Storm Clouds – A Laxus Dreyar Love Story –
by summer.mclean.77
Summary: Laxus grew up with his best friend, Mona Alberona. He was the lightning boy, grandson of Makarov, the boy who could use lightning dragon slayer magic. She was the Water Dragon Slayer, the one who was afraid of storms. This is their story.
1. Character Info

Name: Mona Alberona

Age: 22.

Guild: Fairy Tail.

Class: S-Class.

Magic: Water Dragon Slayer Magic, Water Magic, Combined Storm Magic, Dragon Force, Thought Projection, Transformation, and she is also trying to learn requip magic from Erza.

Guild Mark Location: She has her mark on the left side of her waist, just like her cousin. Her mark is purple, one of her favorite colors.

Special Item: An Amethyst ring that Laxus had gotten her when they were young. Although they are currently acting like enemies, she had never taken the ring off.

Hobbies: She enjoys athletic things, such as fighting, running, swimming, and brawling with her fellow comrades. She jogs every morning she can, for half an hour, and she's always been an early riser. She also enjoys trips to the beach, loving to swim and suntan and play beach volleyball. She reads a lot in her free time. Unlike her cousin she isn't much of a drinker, though she can certainly hold her liquor. She does like to gamble but she doesn't go out of her way to, only gambling when around a casino and bored. She's extremely lucky and often wins big when gambling as well, so it helps when she needs rent money.

Fears: She has a deep fear of storms, often hiding when it rains, scared of the loud thunder and bright, powerful lightning. She tends to tremble and cry when it's storming, which shows how scared she is, especially since she tries not to look weak in front of others. She has motion sickness but it isn't as bad as Natsu or the other dragon slayers, since Water is a wavy element. The only type of motion that doesn't bother her is boats.

Family: Her mother and father are both dead, though it is known they were both S-Class wizards. She was raised by a water dragon named Herona. She has no siblings, but is very close to her uncle Gildarts, and her cousin Cana, even though her uncle doesn't yet know he has a daughter. She considers the guild to be her family as well, and she'd do anything for them.

Looks: She has dark lavender eyes and Brown hair, just like her cousin. Her brown hair is shorter though, only reaching her neck, straight instead of curly, and the bob styled cut frames her delicate face nicely. Her body type is a lot like Cana's, she's just as tall and thin as her, but her breasts are about the same size as Lucy's. She also has good curves, like Lucy.

What she wears: Well, she can change her clothes of course, but often wears the same outfit when working. A sleeveless purple cropped top, which allows her toned stomach to be shown off so people can see her guild's mark. If it's cold or raining or something she'll wear a long sleeved black cropped jacket with a hood over it, still showing her stomach but covering her arms and head. She also wears a skirt that is a lot like Lucy's, but it's black (The short straight one with the belt that she wore when she went invisible in that one episode). She wears black ankle boots as well, when she's working, but when she is at the guild and it's warm, she'll wear black flip flops instead. Sometimes she'll tie a bow in her short hair, a purple one, just to add to her looks, but when she's working it's very rare to see a bow in her hair.

Personality: She has many different personalities. Like water, one moment she can be gentle and the next she can be raging against you. Like a dragon slayer she has a short temper and a never give up attitude, not afraid to fight, even brawl her friends, though she'd never try to hurt her friends. When she's in a good mood she can be indifferent, kind (To an extent), and calm. She is smart, loyal, determined, and many more good traits. But she has a tendency to be extremely jealous sometimes, and she can be quite stubborn and has a nasty temper. In fact, often her fighting isn't at its fullest unless she gets really mad, then her true power is shown.

Info: When she was only a very little girl, her parents died on an S-Class mission. When she got the news, it was storming out. She was so distraught she ran out of Fairy Tail, into the storm, and disappeared. Everyone searched for her but she was nowhere to be found. She ended up by a huge waterfall, in a deep part of the land, somehow guided there. There she met Herona, the water dragon. Water dragons are the most stubborn of all dragons, and they have proven to switch emotions easily and be unpredictable. Herona raised Mona, teaching her the water dragon slayer magic, another type of lost magic. Like sky magic, water magic can be used to heal. But unlike sky magic, water magic is more often used for fighting, and truthfully isn't good for healing serious things, only simple things, and it can't heal poison. Mona came back to Fairy Tail, promising Herona she'd visit again. She was happily accepted back, and that's when she once again saw Laxus, an old friend from her childhood, who was a year older than her. She nicknamed him 'Lax' and 'Lightning', the latter was because of his favorite shirt as a young kid, which had a lightning bolt on it. When she went home to visit Herona, it was the day before the dragons disappeared. She was extremely distressed when she found Herona gone. She searched everywhere… finally she went back to the fairy tale, distraught and frantic. She was miserable, and showed it. Lax had gotten her a ring, a pretty one with an amethyst stone, a promise to always protect her and never hurt her. But she had changed when she came back from her visit. She was distant, quiet. And a week later she left Laxus a letter, disappeared, and never came back. A few months before Lucy came, she returned, a new young woman with plenty of power. She and Laxus had grown apart, because she saw the way he had changed, the anger in his heart. She had become a wiser person while missing. They fought, and he broke the promise he had made to her. He had promised to protect her, to never hurt her, but they fought and he ended up shocking her with lightning, purely on accident because of his anger. They haven't gotten along since. She was promoted to S-class and made a full member of Fairy Tail again. But she never stopped loving Laxus, since she had loved him ever since they were little, as friends but a little more than just friends. Hopefully he can find the right path again, and she can finally forgive him.


	2. Prologue

"Did you hear?" "Yea, she's _their_ daughter." "How awful, all alone." "The poor girl."

I hated hearing those words. Ever since I had 'returned', all I heard was whispers about me. Of course, not from my uncle or gramps or Laxus, but from some of the other guild members, the ones who didn't know me personally. It was annoying and it made me self-conscious, as if I was being watched all the time.

As if I am some kind of entertainment.

Laxus understood. He knew what it was like, to be an outcast. And he was the nicest person I know! Except for maybe Herona.

Currently I was sitting by the water, my short brown hair having a blue bow tied in it, and I wore a white shirt and blue skirt, with my feet barefoot. I was 15 years old, an official member of Fairy Tail.

"Hey Mona!" I heard a familiar voice call.

I turned to see my best friend, Lax, running towards me. He was a welcome sight, wearing his magic headphones, his spiky blonde hair and lightning scar making him stand out.

"Hey Lax. I thought you were on a mission." I greeted, smiling at him.

"Well it didn't take as long as we thought. The old man says I'll be an S-Class mage soon!" He boasted, giving me a confident smirk. Usually Laxus didn't act so cocky, but around me I like to think he showed emotion a little bit more.

I laughed, "You wish, Lightning. Trust me, I'll only regard you as an S-Class if you beat me in a fight!"

He made a Tch sound, "Oh come on Mona, you know I'd never fight you."

I smirked, "The day shall come, young lightning. You have much to learn yet."

"Young? You're a year younger than me! Stop acting all wise." He chuckled, sitting beside me.

I changed the subject, "So, I was hoping you wouldn't come back so soon… I didn't want to have to say goodbye."

All his laughter stopped, and he stared at me, "Goodbye?"

"Yes… You remember how I told you about Herona? Well I promised her I would visit, and it's been years, Laxus. I have to go home for a while. I'll be back soon though! I leave in the morning." I explained, not looking at him, staring at the water.

He was quiet a moment before I heard him chuckle. I finally looked at him to see him running a lazy hand through his blonde hair.

"Well then, when you get back I'll have a present for you! I've been saving up. Besides, we'll have a celebration when you get back, Fairy Tail's honor. Then we can go on a job together, how does that sound?" He smiled at me, slinging an arm over my shoulder.

I tried not to blush, "Sounds great!"

The next morning I hugged him goodbye.

"Be careful, Mona. And come back soon." He whispered in my ear.

I pulled away from the hug and kissed his cheek, making him blush faintly. On rare occasions I would kiss him on the cheek, but I had never actually kissed him. "Baka, nothing will happen to me. I'll be home soon, I swear!"

I ran away from him before he could respond, holding up a one finger sign, showing him I'd be fine.

I could feel his eyes on me as I went out of sight.

**A few weeks later**

"Mona's back! Get Gramps, something's wrong!" Shouts could be heard as I pushed open the doors to the guild.

I was a wreck, my hair wild, my body aching and bruised. I was out of magical energy, and I was pale.

Laxus was the first to reach me, "Mona!"

I collapsed and he caught me.

"Get the old man!" Shouts rang out. I saw familiar faces but I couldn't focus on them, sobbing.

"Mona what happened?!" Laxus demanded to know, a firm grip on my arms.

My voice showed my anger, "Herona's gone! She's gone Laxus, I looked everywhere, my home was in ruins!" My Dragon Slayer's temper was more powerful than a hurricane.

I saw gramps hurrying towards us.

I felt suffocated, like I couldn't breathe, and I heard Lax calling my name as everything went black. I wasn't surprised I had fainted, I had gone days without taking good care of myself, searching for Mona.

It was two days later I woke up in the infirmary.

Laxus was at my bed side. "Mona… you're awake. You've been out for two days!"

I couldn't bring up my temper or cry anymore… I was miserable enough though. I sat up, gripping onto Laxus's hand, which was holding mine.

"Laxus… she's gone." I whispered, my distraught and tangled emotions showing.

"I'm so sorry Mona… I wish I could do something." He really did seem angry he couldn't help me.

I was silent, numb.

Laxus reached over and grabbed a small box, before showing it to me. He opened it and I saw a stunning ring with an Amethyst stone. It was plain, just a silver band with the stone, but It was beautiful.

"I… I got this for you while you were gone. It's a gift for your upcoming birthday, but I decided to give it to you early. The Amethyst holds magic, but I'm not sure how it works. I figured you would find out eventually. I do know that you can contact people through the stone, it's like a communication Lacrima almost, works kind of in the same way." He told me. I think I am one of the few people Laxus thought to get a gift for.

I watched as he slid it on my finger, and then I pulled him into a hug, holding him tight. "Laxus… Thank you."

"I'll always be here for you, Mona. I swear, I'll never hurt you." He replied softly. A rare softness.

**Weeks later**

**Laxus's point of view**

I frowned, watching the storm clouds gather. Mona was terrified of storms. I needed to find her.

Mona had been different since she got back from her visit to Herona. She had been distant, distraught. Even with her new ring, she had been avoiding me sometimes. I let her have her space, figuring she needed time alone. But it had bothered me, that look of sorrow in her eyes.

I walked through town, heading towards her house. But when I got there the house was empty.

"Mona?! Mona!" I yelled, searching. Her stuff was gone, her ring, her bag, her clothes. I stopped when I found a note on her desk.

_Dear Laxus,_

_I've got to go. I don't want to leave fairy tail, but I'll never get strong enough to find Herona, not by staying. I have to find someone to train me, I have to get better at magic. Watch over everyone for me, do you understand? And don't be a Baka. I don't want you getting hurt. I'll be back someday. I don't expect you to wait for me, but at least… don't forget me. And you better be S-Class when I get back, I know you can do it. I'll see you again someday._

_Love, Mona._

I reread it, dropping it in anger as lightning crackled in the sky.

"Damn it Mona!"

**A few months before Lucy comes to the guild**

**Mona's point of view**

"Is that?" "No way!" "Someone get Gramps! Get Laxus! It's her!"

I walked in calmly, ignoring the stares. I spotted Natsu, he certainly had grown up, the little squirt. I saw Elfman and Mira too. And Gray, and Erza. I didn't see Lisanna, or uncle Gildarts, but I saw Macao, Cana, and more familiar faces. I hadn't known Natsu and Happy before I left Fairy Tail, but I had watched over my old guild on occasion, and I had met Natsu one time when he was searching for his dragon, Igneel.

I wore my normal outfit of purple crop top, black shorts, and black ankle boots, also having on my cropped jacket. My short hair had my purple bow tied in it, and I had a bag slung over my shoulder. I wore my ring as well.

I saw a familiar blonde boy looking at me from the second floor, but… as I gazed up at him, he didn't look quite right. Laxus looked like… I couldn't explain it, his expression made me get a chill.

"Mona! You're alive!" Erza greeted, and everyone else looked stunned.

I smirked, raising a hand in an indifferent wave, "Of course I am."

Everyone's whispers went silent as the old man Makarov walked towards me. I looked down at him before bowing.

"Gramps… I wish to rejoin Fairy Tail… I have finally come home." I said, hiding the emotions that soared inside me, just the sight of my old friends was making me want to smile.

"You never were thrown out, were you? You still have your Fairy Tail mark. You can test for S-Class tomorrow, a special test for you, for coming back to us." He said, smiling, "Good to have you back, Mona." I could tell he was holding back tears.

A voice interrupted, "Is that it? You're just letting her join?! And you're letting her have an unofficial S-Class test?!"

I paused as Laxus jumped down from the second floor, landing in front of me with a thud, bubbling with quiet anger.

I was calm, staring at him, "Do you have a problem, Laxus? I thought you'd be glad to see me."

Everyone else was quiet, watching, as if shocked I dared to talk back to Laxus.

"Yea. I have a problem. You Left. You don't deserve to be back here." He said coldly.

I knew it. He was different. "You certainly have changed, lightning."

"So have you, Dragon Slayer." He said back, glaring at me.

"Would you like to fight me?" I asked.

He was startled for a moment. No one else would have noticed but I did, I saw his hesitation.

Then he just gave an indifferent look, turning away, "I don't fight weak losers like you."

Anger struck me, and I replied coldly, "Then why don't you stop being a coward and say that to my face. If you're afraid, I understand, after all I'd beat you easily."

It was true I still loved Laxus. He was my namaka, and at one time I might have thought of him as something more than just a friend. I always would. But he wasn't himself. He was on the wrong path, he had changed, I could tell.

Laxus turned angrily, and I saw sparks come from his headphones.

"Laxus no!" I heard Mira cry out a second before it happened.

I let out a scream as I was electrocuted, feeling the burning lightning make me struggle on the spot as the yellow light hit me, my muscles feeling on fire. I dropped to the floor a moment later, singed and hurt, shaking in pain. I hadn't braced myself. Being hit with lightning was worse than anything I've ever felt. The feeling in the air of pure raw power. It was incredibly scary, and even more painful.

Laxus obviously hadn't meant to, his expression frozen, "Mona I-"

I interrupted as I struggled to my feet, my gaze filled with fury, "You bastard! You promised me! Especially not in an attack like that, not even a real fight! You've changed Laxus. We're certainly not friends anymore, not like this. The Laxus I know would never be so… so full of hate!"

Laxus was frozen, staring at me. Finally he regained his cool, his voice hardening, "If you think that way, fine!"

"Fine!" I yelled back.

"Fine!" He snarled, furious.

I growled, before looking at gramps, "I'll be here tomorrow for the exam."

And I left.

**Laxus's point of view**

When she left, so did I, leaving the guild in silence. She was so… She had certainly grown up. But my Mona was still there, I just couldn't… It seemed like I couldn't be decent to her, not now. She left! I was miserable for the first year without her.

She doesn't deserve to talk to me!

Still… I had promised her. I felt awful , after all she still wore the ring.

_"__I'll never hurt you, Mona. I swear to it."_

I punched a tree I was next to, since I had retreated out of the city and to the woods.

Damn it. I broke my promise… I hurt her. And now I can't bring myself to apologize.


	3. Chapter One: A brawl to start the day

It was unsettling. Every day since I'd been back things had been completely normal… or at least it was with everyone who wasn't named Laxus.

It's been at least a few months now. I rented a home outside of Magnolia in the woods, near a small river. It was a big house, with a nice sized front room, kitchen, a big closet, a full bathroom, and two bedrooms. It was 150,000 jewels a month, but being S-Class I made that easily. I was doing work, and I'd made it to S-Class. I hadn't done many S-Class jobs though, they were offering too much, I didn't need that much money. So often I took easy missions that offered lots of jewels.

I didn't have a team so I would go alone or team up with someone like Cana, or one of the youngers, like Erza, Gray, or Natsu, occasionally Levy and Team Shadow Gear, or even Elfman.

I had learned since I had returned that Laxus was now S-Class, so was Erza and a guy named Mystogan that I had never met. Also Lisanna had died on a mission, I had heard the horrible story from Cana. Personally I didn't know Lisanna very well, since she was very young when I had been a teenager in Fairy Tail.

Cana was same as ever, loving to drink, we had a drinking contest and of course she beat me.

I had learned the names of a couple new members, and had learned that Laxus's dad had been kicked out for good reasons. Personally I had never been fond of Laxus's dad, he was too extreme and risked the lives of his comrades.

It didn't take long for me to catch up with my old friends, excluding Laxus since he refused to talk to me, and if he did we exchanged sneer comments.

Currently I was sitting at the bar with Cana, she was drinking and I was just bored. I wore my blue crop top, black shorts and ankle boots but didn't have my jacket on. Erza was out on a mission so I couldn't learn any requiping today. I didn't want to learn to requip for fighting reasons, I didn't particularly like armor or weapons, but it would be handy to be able to pull stuff out whenever I needed it.

I was going to take on a job, but was trying to decide if I wanted to do an S-Class mission or not. I did need the money this time, for rent, plus I had a couple magic items I wanted to buy.

Before I could get up and go look for a job, I smelled a familiar Scent coming towards the guild.

It was Natsu and Happy, but with them was a girl I had never met before, she smelled like a celestial mage.

Natsu had gotten some friendly advice that a Salamander was in a town nearby, the town of Hargeon, so he and Happy had headed to check it out. I had warned them that it most likely wouldn't be who they were looking for, and I could tell it hadn't been.

Natsu Dragneel was a fire dragon slayer who hadn't unlocked his full power. He had pinkish hair and always wore a white dragon scale scarf. He was like me, his dragon friend Igneel had disappeared on the same day that Herona had, so we had a strong bond. I figured more dragons had disappeared on that day as well.

Happy was his cat, a blue cat who could use Aerial magic to sprout wings and fly. He had been hatched when Natsu found his egg one day. And he happened to love fish, and he could talk.

"Hey everyone, Natsu's Back! Happy is with him, and he has a new girl with him!" I called out, giving them a heads up.

A moment later Natsu kicked open the door with a serious fury, "We made it back alive!"

"We're Home!" Happy cheered.

Greetings rang out from around the small guild pub, people waving and giving thumbs up. I saw who they had with them. A young girl, definitely a celestial mage I could tell from the ring of keys she had. She also had a whip as a weapon, on a brown belt. She wore a short blue skirt and a short sleeve blue and white short. She had blonde hair that had a little pony tail in one side but otherwise was loose, and brown eyes.

Celestial mages used special keys they find to call upon the help of spirits, most likely the celestial spirits such as Cancer, Taurus, Leo, or more. It came quite handy but Celestial wizards often had nothing else to fight with, so if their spirits failed they were out of luck, since it took a lot of magic to summon one spirit, much less several, and definitely not all at once. They were rare since there was only one key for each spirit, and hard to come by, but this girl looked like she had quite a few.

The guild member, Krov, who had given Natsu the friendly gossip about the salamander, spoke up, "So I heard you went all out on Hargeon, Natsu! Had to go starting Trouble-"

He was interrupted by Natsu's foot in his face, kicking him all the way across the room and slamming him into a table. Thankfully we had a wood mage, so any tables that were broken, which happens daily, was soon remade. It did make a mess though.

The new girl was shocked, "WHY DID YOU DO THAT?!" She held up her hands in alarm.

"You lied about that Salamander! I'm gonna kick your butt!" Natsu shouted, making a fist. Natsu was responsible for at least 60% of the fights that broke out daily.

Krok popped back up from the destruction of the table, just as furious as Natsu now, "Don't get mad at me! I'm not the one to blame here! I just passed along a rumor I heard!"

Krov was an average guy with brown hair and rodent like upper teeth. He spreaded rumors like wild fire and wasn't a particularly strong mage, he didn't impress me much. I had met him when I had returned to Fairy Tail a few months ago.

I saw the new girl looked dumbfounded at how calm we all were. It was true not many people would see a brawl every day, unless you were in Fairy Tail. We happened to deal with all out fights all day long. I stayed away a lot, didn't interfere unless I was brought into it. That's another reason I went on jobs a lot, even if I didn't need the money. Anyone who stayed around here too long was driven mad by all the fighting, honestly it drives me nuts, even if I happen to like a good fight now and then.

"IT WAS JUST A RUMOR?!" Natsu shrieked, outraged,

"YOU WANNA FIGHT?!" Krov yelled back.

"LET'S GO!" And so it began, tables being destroyed, punches being thrown.

I growled, raising a fist that was covered in water, held there by magic, a lot like Natsu's fire fists. "You idiots! This isn't the time to fight, we have a new comer!"

Happy raised a paw, "Now now Natsu, I think you may need to calm down-!" It turned to a shout as he was flung across the room by the carelessness of the other guild members.

Someone swung a punch towards me but I ducked and swung my leg out, tripping him. This was getting me all tired out, after this I'll have to make sure to take a job near a hot spring!

The new girl didn't seem to mind, looking in awe as she said, "Oh wow! I'm actually standing inside the Fairy Tail guild hall."

I let the water vanish from my hand, fighting with my sheer athletic abilities alone now, as I kicked Krov in the face. "You're the one who started this!" I growled at him.

"I'm not the one to blame, come on Mona don't be like that!" He said, looking frightened. Usually I didn't show my true power, and I certainly wouldn't for such a weak fight, but still they didn't like to make me mad.

I crossed my arms, "You owe me, Krov, for not kicking your butt in front of the guild." I scowled as I pulled my foot off his chest and let him stand up, only to continue fighting with Natsu.

I turned my attention to Gray Fullbuster. Gray was an ice wizard, a pretty good one too. He was one of the ones who fought with Natsu the most. Plus he had a bad habit of stripping, I can't even count the times he's asked to borrow underwear, or Cana has reminded him that he needs to put on clothes. He had dark blue-ish hair and eyes that are dark enough to be black.

He now wore his boxer shorts and his cross necklace, his guild mark showing on his chest.

"So Natsu finally made it back, HUH?!"

Oh great, this will be fun to watch.

I'm just waiting to see when the others break out their magic, and when someone steps in to stop them.

Of course I could stop this but I wasn't going to, it was none of my business.

So I'll just watch, and wait.


	4. Chapter Two: Members of Fairy Tail

**(Sorry that the first few chapters are basically just brawling and introduction, but It will get better soon.)**

Of course, I knew Cana very well since she is my cousin. Cana was a close friend of Gray's, she was the one who always reminded him to put on clothes.

It was odd, that Gray never seemed to notice if he stripped. Sometimes he did but other times it was completely new information to him that he was half naked.

"It's time to settle things, once and for all!" Gray was fuming, stomping towards a pile of fighting men.

"Gray. Your clothes?" Cana called out, like I knew she would, as I stood nearby her.

Cana used magic cards to fight. My uncle doesn't even know that she is his daughter. She had been born to a woman who had left my uncle, and he never knew. She came to the guild many years ago, a young girl, before I had left to train. But when she saw my uncle Gildarts, a strong S-Class mage, well… She couldn't tell him. So she swore someday she would be an S-Class mage, and then she would tell him. She told me only because I had found out who she was. So had most of the guild.

Cana and I had grown up very close, she had been overjoyed when I returned. She also has a nasty habit of drinking and gambling. She looks like me, but her brown hair is grown out long and wavy, while mine is short and frames my head in soft waves. We have the same brown eyes though. It was my mother who was Gildart's sister. And my father was Cana's mother's brother. I take after my dad so Cana and I look a lot alike.

Our mark was in the same place, our body types were almost the same. Cana wore a blue bikini like top, and orange pants, with three silver bracelets on both her wrists, and black and silver arm bands on her upper arms. I wasn't surprised she had a glass of alchohol in her hand. She holds the title of Fairy Tail's heaviest drinker, afterall.

"I don't have time for that!" Gray yelled back at her.

Cana sighed, "You see, Mona? I don't date the men here because they have no class." She lifted an entire barrel of beer and began to chug it down.

"Well you're right about them having no class, but you might want to look at some of the girls in the guild as well, Cana." I laughed lightly.

"Hey, don't insult the drinking, Mona!" She exclaimed, continuing to chug.

The new girl looked horrified, and I was just calmly standing there, because for me this is an every day occurrence.

I heard Gray shout, "Come here and fight me, Natsu!"

I turned my head to see Natsu pushing on Krov's head, but he turned his gaze towards Gray, "Not until you put some clothes on!"

I noticed Elfman walking forward. Elfman was Mirajane and Lisanna's brother, Mira was older than him and Lisanna was younger. He had been the one who accidently killed Lisanna, when he tried to do a full take over on a beast's soul, but the beast had taken control. Ever since then Mira hasn't fought and he hasn't been able to do a full transformation, usually only using one arm. He was the kind of guy who believed problems could be handled with two strong fists, and was always going on about being manly.

He was big and strong looking with white hair and tan skin. A true beast, they say he is in battle, but really he was as soft and nice as a puppy. We got along well and had been on jobs together before.

"It's only noon and you boys are already whining like spoiled babies!" He scolded, but then held up his fists and exclaimed, "I'm a real man, want me to prove it to ya?!"

I heard the new girl say, "I can't believe he's encouraging them…"

And that's when Natsu and Gray both promptly punched Elfman in the face and knocked him out. As tough as Elfman seemed, Natsu and Gray had strong punches.

"They knocked him out that easily?!" The new girl said allowed, surprised.

I chuckled softly, walking over to the girl and holding out a hand, "That's Natsu and gray for you. I've never met such Knuckleheads, but they certainly can throw a punch. I'm Mona."

The girl smiled and shook my hand, "I've heard about you! Mona Alberona, The S-Class Mage! I've heard about you from Sorcerer Weekly! I'm Lucy." She seemed overjoyed.

I wasn't big on photo spreads in the magazine like Mira-Jane was, but I did ever so often let them take a photo or two.

"That would be me. Nice meeting you, Lucy." I pulled my hand back as I noticed a wizard nearby looking at me with a glare, a clear ask for a fight. "Well, excuse me, I have a fight to win." I quickly headed away from Lucy to punch the wizard in the face, and we began an all-out fist fight.

By the end of it I was victorious of course, holding him by the shirt, "Next time you want to fight, it'll be with magic."

"Y-Yes Mona!" He cried out as I dropped him.

I turned my attention back towards Lucy in time to spot Loke. Two girls I didn't know sat on his lap, his arms around them as they giggled.

"Jeez, it's so noisy around here, huh?" Loke was saying. Loke was a lady killer, I had met him once I returned and he tried flirting with me. And he ended up half drowned, flopping on the floor like a fish. He had soft black eyes and slightly spiky orange hair, and was a huge cheesy flirt. I had never seen him fight seriously before, and as far as I knew he just used magic rings that he had on his fingers.

I grabbed a nearby tin can and chucked it at him, and it hit him right on the head. I could see him scowl as his lady friend asked, "Are you alright?"

He stood and made his way closer to the fighting, where I stood. "I'm going to go fight, only to protect you two." He said, giving a thumbs up.

"Good luck Loke!" The girls swooned as I grabbed Loke by his jacket and yanked him into the fight.

"M-Mona!" He yelped, seeing the anger in my eyes.

I growled, "Loke you are just as much of a stupid flirt as ever. Don't you ever get tired of so many damn bimbos!"

"Well if you wanted my undivided attention, all you needed to do was ask, Mona." He attempted to flirt, until I punched him and threw him halfway across the room, into another part of fighting.

I was about to jump back into fighting when I heard Lucy, "- There's not one sane person in the whole place!"

I smiled. That was certainly true, none of us were anywhere near normal, much less sane.

I spotted Mirajane as she walked over to Lucy. Mira, as I said before, is Lisanna and Elfman's older sister. She looks innocent, with big blue eyes and white hair, wearing a dress. But Mirajane is a powerful mage, a former S-Class. I hate to say she might even be able to beat me, if she still fought. She is nicknamed The Devil. She, like Elfman, uses Take Over Magic. But hers is special. She has Take Over: Satan's Soul. Even I shudder when I see her using it. She is truly someone to be feared when fighting. She has a big heart, and anyone she considers threatening to the people she loves is her enemy.

Mira and I have become close since I've returned, and I've asked her to go on S-Class jobs with me but she always refuses. I'd love to see her fight again, like she once did, but I don't think I ever will. Now she just is an employee, here at the Guild Hall. Plus the old man liked to consult with her along with the other S-Class mages.

"Hello! Are you new here?" Mira greeted Lucy as I ducked to avoid a chunk of wood being thrown.

Lucy seemed to be having a squealing moment, "It's Mirajane! In the flesh!"

Mirajane was in Sorcerer's Weekly every week. She was very popular and had plenty of fans. I didn't appear as often so I could see why Lucy was so excited to meet Mira. I considered Mira to be prettier than me, so I completely understood why she was in the bikini photo spread more often.

Lucy, finally getting over her moment, pointed to the fighting, "Um… don't you think we should try to stop them or something?"

I saw Elfman throwing a punch towards me and caught him by the wrist, yanking him forward and throwing him in the air and accidently towards Mira.

"It's always like this around here, I just leave them alone." Mira explained. "Besides-" She got stopped short when she let out a scream as Elfman barreled into her, landing on top of her as they both hit the ground.

"Sorry Mira! My fault!" I called to her.

She finished her sentence, "It's kind of fun… don't you think?" And with that she looked ready to faint or die, an anime style soul beginning to show.

"Ah! Don't die Mirajane!" Lucy shrieked.

This was going to be a long fight unless someone stopped it. I felt a little guilty I had threw Elfman onto Mirajane.

Maybe I should stop the fight?

… Nah.


	5. Chapter Three: Master Makarov

At that moment I had to slide to the side to avoid Gray, who instead slammed into Lucy. And he was now fully naked.

Natsu stood nearby, swinging Gray's boxers in the air like a trophy.

"Give me back my underwear, jerk!" Gray demanded.

Poor Lucy was screaming, peering at him from the small cracks in her hands, trying to hide her gaze but failing miserably. I watched as Gray noticed her and slid over to stand next to her, holding out a hand.

"Excuse me miss can I please borrow your underwear?" He asked her.

Lucy grabbed a long roll of paper and smacked him away, "As if!"

Loke came into view, sweeping her off her feet and holding her in his arms, as if trying to woo her, "These guys are all so insensitive, a woman has needs-!" He was punched away by Elfman, and dropped Lucy.

"Real men speak with their fists, Loke!" Elfman exclaimed.

Natsu ran over and kicked Elfman away, "I told you to butt out!"

I growled, pushing Natsu away, "Will you idiots stop bothering Lucy?!"

"Aye!" Happy agreed.

Lucy was back to freaking out over Mirajane.

I paused when I heard Cana, who was still sitting at the bar, now holding a mug of beer.

"Ugh it's so loud. So much for having a drink to relax." I could tell she was irritated. She turned her chair to face the crowd of brawling mages, holding up a glowing blue magic card. "That's enough you guys, I suggest that you knock it off."

A glowing magic circle appeared from the card. Magic circles are our spells. While certain spells can be used without thought, such as water covering my hands, most spells show off magic circles.

Ice appeared at Gray's hands as he made a fist on top of his other palm, taking a fighting stance, and a magic circle appeared, "Oh yea? Says who?"

Elfman let out a yell, raising a fist as a magic circle traveled down his arm, and when it was gone he had taken on an arm of stone.

I saw Loke turn the stone on his ring, and it glowed as a green magic circle appeared, "You punks can be such a nuisance."

Natsu and I both took on fighting stances, fire engulfing his fists and water swirling around mine.

"I'm ready for ya!" Natsu exclaimed.

"Bring it on, if you think you can beat me!" I said, confident. I knew most of them wouldn't really try to beat me, but since we were using magic it could be considered a real group fight.

Lucy held up Happy, using him as a shield. "They always fight like this?!"

"Uh huh!" Happy confirmed.

Lucy's voice was slightly shrill, "You don't seem worried!"

The fight was just about to continue when a giant black foot stomped on the ground. I turned my attention to a big shadowy black giant.

"WOULD YOU FOOLS STOP BICKERING LIKE CHILDREN?!" The giant thundered.

Everyone stopped. I heard Lucy exclaim, "He's huge!"

There were people gripping each other, people holding other people in the air, ready to throw them, and people who had just been about to use magic.

I was beside Cana, who had stopped while holding a card. Whirling water covered both my arms like little whirlpools. Near us was Elfman and Gray, stopping right as they were about to fight.

A silence fell over the room.

Finally Mira spoke, smiling, "I'm sorry, I didn't know you were still here, Master."

The giant gave a grunt and Lucy freaked out, "DID YOU SAY MASTER?!"

Natsu burst out laughing. "Man talk about a bunch of babies! Looks like I've won this round you-!" He was silenced when the giant stepped on him, smooshing him into the floor.

I stood beside Mirajane and Lucy, and finally let my water disappear. Lucy was still quite startled.

"Well. Seems we've a new recruit." The Master spoke in that slightly terrifying voice.

Lucy let out a sound that sounded like a squeak of fear, "Yes Sir!"

I waved an indifferent hand in the air, "Gramps, in that form you're scaring the poor girl!" I informed him.

And with that, he let out a howl like noise as he shrunk, the cloud like magic energy around him seeming to come from him like steam, and an odd sound came from him as he turned back to normal. Lucy looked dumbstruck. There stood Makarov Dreyar, our Master. I like to call him Gramps or Old man.

He is in fact, Laxus's grandfather. He was a tiny old man with white hair, lots of power, and he was a bit of a pervert for pretty young girls. He was one of the ten wizard saints, and he had practically raised Laxus and I. He held a roll of paper in one hand.

"Sorry about that, Mona." He raised a hand, smiling at Lucy, "Nice to meet cha!"

Lucy, shocked, had no thought about her rudeness as she exclaimed, "He's tiny! This little guy's really in charge here?!"

"Of course he is! Allow me to introduce the fairy tail guild master, Makarov." Mirajane told her. I noticed the fighting guild members had dispersed slightly, probably trying to not draw attention to themselves so they wouldn't be punished. They were such cowards sometimes, especially around Gramps and Erza.

With that, Master Makarov turned and jumped up towards the second floor, doing a spin, but hit the railing. He shifted so he was standing on the railing instead, and cleared his throat. All the previously fighting guild members gathered, including me. I stood beside my friend Levy.

Levy was a short, skinny, small woman with blue hair and an orange strip of clothe in it. She was really smart, and she had glasses that allowed speed reading. She wasn't so powerful in fighting but she still helped the guild a lot, and I had grown to enjoy her being my friend. She always had Jet and Droy, her two teammates, with her. They called themselves team Shadow Gear. And Jet and Droy were in love with Levy, though I doubt she even notices or feels the same.

"You've gone and done it again, ya bunch of clots!" Gramps lectured, holding up a big stack of papers, "Just take a look at how much paper work the magic council sent me this time! This is the biggest pile of complaints yet!"

I shuddered. The magic council was no friend of mine. They monitored all the different guilds and they handled the laws of magic using. I'd had a few run ins with them when I was gone, training and such. All Fairy Tail wizards had a bad habit of destroying things whenever we fought, just like how a simple brawl had destroyed all the tables in the guild hall. I wasn't as bad as some of the wizards, since water is pretty flexible, but I had my moments. Once I almost wiped out half a town with a flash flood, it hadn't been nice when I got back. Gramps wouldn't let me hear the end of it.

Even as an S-Class mage, I still could be a bit stupid sometimes, especially when I got angry.

"HAVE YOU LOST YOUR MINDS?! All you kids are good for is getting the higher-ups mad at me!" The old man yelled, practically trembling with anger.

Around me, everyone seemed to give murmurs of guilt, but I just crossed my arms. There was no way Master was really mad, I mean since when did he give a hoot about the council?

Proving me right, Gramps began again, "However…" he set the papers on fire. "I say to heck with the magic council." He gave a 'Heh' sound and threw the flaming papers, to which Natsu jumped up and grabbed them with his mouth, ready to eat the flames.

Did I mention? Dragon slayers gain power from eating their element. So Natsu eats fire and he likes to say he gets 'All fired up', while all I have to do is drink water. Unfortunately we cannot eat our own magic, he can eat fire thrown at him but can't make fire to eat, and the same goes for me and water.

"Now listen up. Any power that surpasses reason still comes from reason, right? Magic isn't some kind of miraculous power. It is a talent; that only works when the flow of energy inside of us, and the flow of energy in the natural world are in perfect synchronization. To perform magic one must have a strong mind, and the ability to focus. It should take over your being and come pouring out of your soul! If all we do is worry about following rules then our magic would never progress! Don't let those blowhards on the council scare you! Follow the path you believe in!"

A smile grew on my lips as I saw the proud determination of everyone around me, and I felt that tugging at my heart. This is what made a Fairy tail wizard. This is what made us who we are!

"BECAUSE THAT'S WHAT MAKES THE FAIRY TAIL GUILD #1!" Gramps finished, holding up the one finger sign that made our hearts soar. That sign… it was the sign of Fairy Tail! It was a gesture that Laxus had made, a sign that we would always watch over each other, and it was a sign that gave us hope.

Cheers rang out and everyone made the one finger hand sign, holding our hands high in the air, even I did so. It might seem foolish but it stood for our guild.

This is why I was proud to be a Fairy Tail Mage.

Because we don't give up, we don't back down, and we will always protect our friends, our family, our guild!


	6. Chapter Four: Request Board

**(Wow this chapter is long, over 2,000 words. I just was so inspired by this chapter, it seemed I couldn't stop writing. Well, it's done. XD besides, some stories have single chapters that are over 10,000 words, so surely this is nothing much. Hope you like it!)**

After that inspirational speech from the old man, I decided to look at the S-Class work board, just to see what we had.

Hmm… Well, A demonic monster terrorizing a small village at night. That sounded important but I was sure someone else would want it, and it had a high reward. There was a stealth mission to sneak into a threshold of a powerful wizards and retrieve an artifact he had stolen. I wasn't good at stealth missions… well I could turn into water and get in that way, but it was tedious and after I got in I sucked at moving around silently.

I let out a sigh, biting my lip as I searched. There were two other current missions. One was a ten year mission, and I definitely didn't want to do that one. That was for someone like uncle Gildarts, or Master Makarov, or Mira. I studied the last one, and by now a small scowl was beginning to show on my face. It was something about infiltrating a powerful business as an employee and finding out what they were up to. That would take weeks. I needed something simple.

I suppose I'll have to take a look at the other board.

"I don't understand why you join in on those stupid brawls. Those idiots just want to pass time and try to prove their strength, and you encourage it." A voice yanked me out of my thoughts.

I turned, hands on my hips, to look at none other than Laxus. He sat in a chair with his back to the wall, wearing those magic headphones. I hadn't paid attention to him before he spoke. I couldn't help but stare stiffly at him, especially his heaphones. I had gotten him those headphones for his fourteenth birthday, special order from the best magic shop. I had saved my jewels for weeks to afford them, the lightning ones were rarer.

"Well it's hard not to be dragged in, they disrupt any peace there is. Besides, better to join in then to be bored and sulk up here." I replied, my tone emotionless.

He gave me a look that said he couldn't care less. "The more you encourage them, the more they will fight. Looking for a job?"

I had no idea why he was trying to talk to me, though his tone was anything but friendly. "Might as well get some work done. I was just checking the S-Class missions. Nothing interests me, I'm going to check the other bored. I need something easy, nearby, and able to finish today."

"I saw one for bandits, in that hideout in the south forest. You should take a look at it." He replied, his eyes sharp as he looked at me.

I coldly replied, "Thanks, maybe I will. Have a good day, Laxus." I turned on my heel and walked away from his as fast as I could without being too noticeable.

Talking to him gave me chills. He wasn't the same Laxus that I knew. There was something about him I didn't trust, while I felt his heart was the same deep down, I felt like he was planning something… Like he had darker thoughts. I didn't like the way he looked at me, as if he was wishing I hadn't come back. It was unnerving, and even a bit scary.

I made my way down to the first floor, and I saw Mirajane stamping Lucy with her Fairy Tail mark. Lucy's mark was a light pink and on the back of her hand. You see, there were magic stamps that held the mark of your guild, each a different color. If you tell Mirajane what color you want and where, she'll stamp it anywhere on your body. I heard a rumor that wherever you placed your mark, that spot would be tender. I wasn't sure, but apparently it was one of those pleasure spots. That's why some chose to put their marks in places like the chest, tongue, or waist. I just chose my waist because that was the easiest spot for me to have it seen, considering the clothes I liked to wear.

I saw the stamp glow with magic energy as the mark was placed on Lucy's hand. I headed to stand by the request board, next to Natsu, who looked set on finding a job.

"There. Now you're an official member of the Fairy Tail guild." I heard Mirajane tell Lucy with a chirpy voice.

Lucy let out a sharp squeal like breath and ran over to Natsu, but I tried to ignore her, "Hey Natsu! Look, Mirajane just put the official Fairy Tail mark on my hand!"

Hmm let's see… I spotted the bandits job that Laxus had told me about. It was good money, and it did look easy enough, but I was relunctant to take a job he had suggested. There were all kinds of jobs. While S-Class jobs are far and few, and mostly had to do with fighting; regular jobs can be anywhere on the continent and there were all kinds of them. There were escort jobs, retrieving jobs, fighting jobs, collecting jobs. There were also those rare few jobs called Seduction jobs, mostly meant for female mages when flirting to find information tended to come in handy.

Personally I was fine with any kind of job, but I wasn't as good at stealth so retrieving jobs weren't my strong suit. And traveling made me uneasy so often I didn't go on escort jobs, though occasionally I did. I had done Seduction jobs before but since they were rarer there wasn't many to go on. Fighting jobs were easy for me, but whenever I went on fighting jobs, depending how hard it is, I would take someone with me.

Often when going on a seduction job, Mirajane or Master had the selected lady have at least one male wizard with her for protection, that way it was only flirting and seduction, and the female wizard wouldn't be… well, the person they were flirting couldn't get quite hands on them too much. Thankfully I had never run into a seduction job that I couldn't handle, and hadn't allowed anyone to trick me, so it hadn't bothered me.

Back to the guild members beside me, Natsu seemed to be trying even harder to pay no attention to Lucy, "Oh yea? That's cool, welcome to the guild Loony." His voice was bland, and he didn't even glance at her as she held up her hand.

She quickly showed a bit of anger, "The name's Lucy!" She snarled in a high pitched voice.

I smiled, "Don't mind him Lucy, he's just trying to search for a job." I called after her as she headed to sit.

I was reading a paper about 'The holy sword'. Someone was paying quite a few jewels for us to find a legendary sword called Excalibur that was apparently in a mystical cave. Sounded interested, so I was debating between Excalibur and Bandits.

The sword quest paid 90,000 jewel, and it was in a mage village that I could get to by train and if I was lucky I could get home by nightfall, though most likely it was a two day trip. It wasn't much jewel but enough to go towards rent. My rent was about 150,000 monthly, and that was only because of the size and location of the home I had bought. I could live at the women Fairy Tail dormitory, called Fairy Hills, but it wasn't somewhere I wanted to live.

"Make sure you pick one with a big reward Natsu!" Happy reminded him.

I was about to decide on what job to choose when Natsu grabbed ahold of the bandits paper. Well I kept calling them bandits, but really it was just some thieves.

"Wow, 160,000 Jewel just to get rid of some thieves?!" Natsu exclaimed.

"Sounds good to me." Happy squeaked.

I smiled at them, "Sounds like you've both picked a good quest. I was looking at it too, but I think I'll take this Sword quest." I took ahold of the sword paper, feeling a bit disappointed that Natsu had grabbed the thieves quest.

I paused as I heard a distressed voice, "How come my dad hasn't come back yet?"

I felt a tugging feel on my heart as Natsu and I both looked at Romeo. Romeo was Macao's son, and he was an aspiring wizard, though he was too young to join Fairy Tail officially.

The young boy was bright and kind but he got bullied because his dad was a wizard. I understood how he felt, I remember the whispers that followed me around so long ago, so I knew what it was like to feel as if you were being looked down on.

Macao had gone on a mission to Mt. Hakobe a week ago, with a promise he'd be back in three days… We were all worried but Romeo's constant questions made it even worse.

Gramps, who had been drinking beer from a mug, lowered his drink. "You're starting to work my nerves, Romeo. You're a wizard's son, have faith in your father and wait patiently for him."

"But sir, he told me that he'd be back in three days! And he's been gone for over a week now!" His voice raised slightly, and I could feel the anxiety rising within the small boy.

I had felt the same when Herona first disappeared, that need to know why she wasn't there, that frustration and anger that I couldn't find her.

"If I remember correctly, he took the job of mount Hakobe." Gramps said.

"That's right and it's not that far from here so why won't somebody go look for him?!" Romeo yelled.

Gramps was getting angry too, not because of Romeo but because he shared the same worry, "Listen kid! Your old man is a wizard! And like every other wizard in this guild he can take care of himself! Now go home, have some milk and cookies, and wait!"

Romeo visibly made fists, tense and upset. I watched as he punched the master right in the face, "JERK!" sobbing, he ran from the room, "I HATE YOU ALL!" It was just like how I had stumbled in, sobbing, telling them Herona had vanished.

With one look at Natsu I knew the salamander felt the same feeling I did.

"That's got to be tough…" I heard Lucy say.

Mirajane spoke up, "I know it sounds like the master doesn't care. But he really is worried."

We all jumped and turned our attention to the request board when a loud crash sounded. Natsu had punched in the middle of the board, almost breaking it, right where the Bandit paper was.

Nab, who was standing near, yelled, "What do you think you're doing?! You almost broke the board Natsu!" Nab was a fellow guild member, tall and muscly with tan skin and a bobbish black hair style. He often wore Tribal clothing and skulls, and I didn't know him very well.

The Master, who's nose was now bandaged, let out a sigh as Natsu began to walk out of the hall, holding his traveling pack and having Happy at his side. We all knew that Natsu was going to find Macao.

Nab leaned on the bar, "This doesn't look good Master. You know how he can be. I bet he's going up to Mt. Hakobe to save Macao."

Krov spoke up, "When is that kid ever gonna grow up?!"

"Who knows? Going after Macao isn't going to do anything but hurt his pride." Nab replied.

Master Makarov spoke solemnly, "Remember Nab, we can't choose another's path. Just leave him be."

"I think Natsu is right. Sure, Macao won't be happy he had to be rescued. But he's not just a guild member, he's a friend. A Nakama. And if he needs help, if he needs someone to drag him back here, then Natsu is that someone. We can't leave him there if he's in trouble, so Natsu is the perfect person to help him." I said, staring at the Sword paper in my hand before glancing at the board again, mostly at the wrinkled and crushed thieves job paper.

"Why did Natsu get so upset?" Lucy asked innocently, sounding worried about him.

Mira answered from where she stood, polishing dishes, "Probably because he and Romeo have a lot in common."

Lucy turned to face her and I lifted my gaze from the papers to gaze over at them.

Mira's voice was soft, "I think he sees himself in Romeo. Just because we're members of Fairy Tail, it doesn't mean we don't have our own personal issues. We've all had our fair share of suffering and loss."

Mirajane began to tell Lucy about how Natsu's father igneel had left, and how he had been a dragon and had taught Natsu everything. She also mentioned me, but I just looked away as she talked to Lucy. I had heard this story a thousand times before, I had lived through it. She explained to Lucy how Natsu and I both live for the day we'd find our dragons.

Lucy stood, determined after hearing that, "I'm going to help Natsu bring Macao back."

"Good luck. I know you two can do it." I called after her.

Krov looked at me, "Don't you want to go with them, Mona? Surely you feel the same Natsu does."

I watched Lucy's retreating back and smiled.

"This is Natsu's mission, not mine. He doesn't need my help."

And it was true. Natsu was growing up.


	7. Chapter Five: Team Shadow Gear and Mona

I sat down at the bar with a deep sigh, in one hand holding the 90,000 lost sword quest paper, and in the other hand holding the half ruined 160,000 quest paper. I finally set the papers down on the bar counter.

"Have you decided on a quest, Mona?" Mira asked me, coming over to me with my favorite Strawberry Banana smoothie.

Leave it to Mirajane to know exactly what I need. She tended to do that without asking, since she seemed to have a sense for what people need most.

"Thanks Mira." I said, gladly accepting the smoothie. "No… I mean I guess I could do both. See, The Excalibur quest is farther and if I do that and get it done today, then I can stay in town for the night, and do the Thieves quest on my way back, that shouldn't take long. What do you think? I know it is bad to take more than one quest, but it's so easy to do both."

Mira smiled the kind of smile only she could give. It was the 'I'll support whatever you decide to do' kind of smile. I don't know what we'd do without her. "Well, I'm sure you can handle it. You are after all, an S-Class wizard. But I think you should take someone."

I sighed, taking a long sip of the cold but sweet smoothie. I loved tropical drinks, they were my favorite. The only ones who knew how much I enjoyed them were Mirajane, and Laxus.

It brought back an old memory.

**Flashback**

_It was a sunny day and I was fourteen years old. Laxus and I were at the beach, compliments to his grandpa, Master Makarov. I was glowing with happiness, wearing a yellow sun dress, my short brown hair had a white flower tucked in it. _

_We were sitting at a beach café having a short breakfast before going to search for seashells, because Laxus promised he'd search with me so I could make a necklace._

_"__Isn't it great here, Lax? I wish we could come here sometime again, it's nice to get away from the guild for a while." I beamed happily at my friend. _

_He laughed lightly, looking at me. He seemed so carefree, it was nice to see him so relaxed. He had gotten a bit quieter around the guild. "We'll come here again someday, Mona. I have to admit it is pretty nice. But I can't help but miss the guild too."_

_I sighed, "You're right."_

_At that moment the waitress came with our food, and a strawberry banana smoothie for me. I thanked her and happily took a sip._

_I noticed after a moment that Laxus was watching me, which made my cheeks go red. "What?"_

_He got a small smile, "Nothing, It's just your eyes lit up when you got that smoothie."_

_"__Well it's my favorite. My mother loved fruit and whenever she would come home from jobs, she'd try to bring exotic fruit from whatever town she went to. I grew to love smoothies, especially strawberry banana." I explained, taking another long sip._

_He reached over to ruffle my hair up, a cheeky grin beginning to show, "I'll have to remember that then."_

**End of Flashback**

We hadn't gone back to the beach after that, we'd gotten too busy and then I had left.

I snapped out of my memory and thought back to Mira's question about who to take. She was right, it was an easy job to do but both of them would be dull without a few friends.

"Hmm… Who to ask?" I wondered out loud.

Lucy and Natsu had gone on a quest. I could ask Gray but I really didn't think his ice magic was good for this job.

My gaze drifted around the hall. Nab? No, he was too stranger-ish for a two day trip, I wasn't sure about him yet. Plus he smelled odd, a scent only a dragon slayer would pick up. Krov? No, he annoyed me.

Cana? Well She was someone I could get along with but her drinking would end up making me pay more than I'd get from the quest. Besides, she looked content to sit and drink here, she didn't look like she wanted a mission right now.

Laxus? No way in hell.

I sighed, feeling a bit despaired, and turned back to Mirajane, "If only you still were an active mage, I'd take you with me Mira."

She just smiled and turned away to wash more dishes. My gaze stopped on Elfman, who was sitting nearby. He was indeed strong enough for this mission, but he never stopped talking about being manly, and after a while it got on my nerves.

And that's when it hit me.

Levy!

I turned around, scanning the hall for her. That's when I saw her, sitting with her mind on her book, her blue hair messy but held back by her favorite yellow band. I wasn't surprised to find her reading. Levy was a total bookworm, her entire apartment was stacked with books! She took it as a hobby to decode ancient languages too, it was kind of odd but endearing in a way.

Of course if I asked Levy, I had to bring Jet and Droy along two. Jet was a ginger haired boy who was known for his speed. He didn't really have much fighting skill but his speed made up for it. Droy was a black haired boy who used plant magic. Jet, Droy, and Levy grew up as childhood friends, and now they were known as team Shadowgear.

"Mira, I think I know who I'm bringing on my jobs. I'll see you tomorrow, alright?" I called to the busy woman who gave a nod and a soft, "Be careful!"

I stood, making my way over to team Shadowgear.

I sat across from Levy, Droy, and Jet, a smile on my face, "When was the last time you three went on a mission?"

Levy looked up at me, smiling.

Jet spoke, "Well it has been a while."

"Would be nice." Droy agreed.

"What do you have in mind, Mona?" Levy asked me, setting down her book.

I held up the two papers which I had brought with me. "Two in one. We go to this nearby town and help find a mystical sword, should take the whole day, then we get a hotel room and in the morning we'll come back and hit this thieves den."

Jet and Droy seemed to love the idea, as Droy exclaimed, "Awesome! Two missions with Levy and Mona! We're in!"

Levy stood, "Sure Mona, We'd love to come. We can head to the train station now, if you're ready." She asked, as Jet and Droy stood with her.

I stood too, "Alright, I'm ready. Let's go."

As we walked out together, Jet and Droy were talking and laughing about how easy the jobs will be, but I couldn't help but glance back at the guild.

I caught a pair of familiar eyes from the second floor, and locked gazes with Laxus for a moment. My expression turned cold and I turned my attention away as I closed the door behind me.

And it felt awful.

I hated having to act cold towards Laxus, but he truly seemed to have changed.

"Are you alright, Mona?" I heard Levy ask me as we walked down the sidewalk.

I put on a fake but brave smile, "Yeah, I'm fine."

And so we continued to the train station.

These missions would be easy, and hopefully Natsu would be back with Macao by the time we got back.


	8. Chapter Six: The Swordsman, Irvin

"Are you sure you're okay, Mona? You look pale." Jet was asking for the millionth time.

I glared the best I could, but it was a weak attempt.

We were sitting on a train, heading to the town of Clover, the town the first job was in. It would take a few hours to get there. I didn't have motion sickness as severely as Natsu, but I was still affected. I was pale and tense, sitting as stiff as stone in our compartment, slightly shaking while my stomach felt like it was in knots.

"I told you… I'm fine." I murmured in a quiet but defiant voice.

"Leave her be, Jet, Mona can handle a little train ride. She's held out this long, hasn't she?" Droy came to my defense.

Levy was reading a book, and replied softly, "We'll be there soon, Mona-Chan, just hold in there."

I let out a groan and sunk deeper into my seat, wishing we could have walked all the way. Unfortunately the only way to get to Clover was by train.

A half hour later Jet and Droy dragged me off the train, because I was too shaky and weak to stand on my own. Levy followed, looking like she felt bad for me.

We sat at the train station for a while so I could take some deep breaths and revive my willpower.

"She looks ready to puke." Droy said out loud.

"Don't be rude, Droy! You know how Mona and Natsu are affected by traveling." Levy scolded him.

Finally I stood, a grin showing as the color came back to my face. I decided to ignore Jet and Droy's dumb comments.

"I'm good! Let's go see our client, before the whole day wastes away!" I cheered, as team shadow gear stood too.

"How can she do that? One second she's as weak as a fish without water, the next she's full of energy." I heard Jet ask in disbelief as I lead the way, walking a bit in front of them.

Levy laughed lightly, "That's why she's a water dragon slayer, she changes emotions easily. Natsu is the same way though."

"Crazy dragons…" Droy joked.

As we walked I allowed them to catch up so I walked beside Levy.

"So, who is it we need to talk to again?" Levy asked me, since I was the one who had the papers. I had brought along a small dark purple bag that was slung over my shoulder, which held overnight items and the two quest papers.

I pulled out the paper for this sword quest. "Hmm. Well it says to come to Irvin's Swordship, a weapon's shop in town. It should be easy enough to find. I guess the owner, Irvin, is the one who paid for this job."

"Irvin's Swordship? What kind of lousy name is that?" Droy asked.

"That's being mean, Droy." Levy scolded him softly.

Jet and Droy both echoed, "We're sorry Levy!"

I laughed, "Let's just get going or we'll never get this quest done by tonight."

And so we continued out of the train station and into the small town of Clover.

We finally stopped in front of a big shop shaped like a boat with decorative swords that had excellent craftsmanship all around. A big gold sign said, 'Irvin's Swordship' in fancy lettering.

We all stared at the building for a moment.

"I have a feeling whoever wants us to find this sword is a nutjob." I said, slightly cross.

"Don't be so depressing, Mona-Chan! It's an easy job! It'll be over before you know it." Levy tried to cheer me up.

Droy and Jet gushed over her attempt, "See Mona?! Levy is always so positive!" They echoed, enthused.

I rolled my eyes, "Let's just go in and find out more about what the job entails." I said, pushing open the door as we walked in.

The inside was warmly styled with gold and red accents, dark wood walls and red carpet like blood, it felt like a real ship. Pictures of sword fighting pirates and kings sitting on piles of gold lined the walls in a regal way.

"Woah…" We all murmured together.

At the sound of the little bell from opening the door, a little man bustled into the room.

He was about four or three foot something, with green hair that reminded me somewhat of Laxus's friend Freed. Freed, Bixlow, and Evergreen were part of a team called the Thunder God Tribe, because they toted on Laxus like they lived only for him. I hadn't really seen them around.

Anyway, the little guy had short cropped green hair, and beady little red eyes, and wore a red pirates outfit that also reminded me of Freed. He even had the little sword. This guy might be small but he walked like a pompous king, staring us down as if he found us unfit to be mages. I already despised him and he hasn't said anything yet.

He stared at us as if evaluating us and he paced back and forth.

We were silent, watching him.

Finally I blurted out, "Are you the guy who paid for this job? We're Fairy Tail Wizards." I held up the flyer.

He whipped out his sword and pointed it at me, as if that was supposed to scare me. "Proper young ladies only speak when spoken to! And what is that atrocity you're wearing?! Disgraceful! I find it hard to believe you're a wizard, more like a barbarian!"

Levy and her two teammates opened their mouths to protest but I held up a hand to stop them. My eyes were downcast, anger bubbling in me as if I had scalding hot water in my stomach. I was furious, I was ready to strangle this guy.

But I knew I had to keep calm if I wanted to be paid for this job. We all made our way here, all the way to Clover, just for this, so I won't let his words strike at me.

Slowly I curtsied, bowing my head, and finally looked at him with a cute smile, forced but cute. I made sure I was giving my irresistible face, my eyes glittering up at him as I made fake tears beginning to show.

"I apologize, my lord, for my rudeness. It was foolish of me. Please forgive me. We've made our way here just to serve you and collect our payment." I said, giving my softest voice.

Levy, Jet, and Droy stared at me incredibly. Inside I was smirking, my cheering meter dancing. No one could resist an apology from me, not when I used this face.

The man seemed slightly disgruntled at my sudden change in attitude. He cleared his throat awkwardly, a blush beginning to show, "Stand, my young lady. I forgive you wholeheartedly. Now, I assume you've come to learn the details of what I wish?"

I stood straight again.

Levy spoke up, "Yes sir."

Jet and Droy saluted and followed Levy's example, "Yes Sir!"

The man looked at them with a slightly pompous look, "Follow me."

He lead us to a back room and allowed us to sit on a long red couch while he sat in a matching throne-like chair.

"Now. As you know my name is Irvin. I require your services due to finding a mystical sword, it is called Excalibur." He began to explain. "Excalibur is a powerful golden sword said to be the best weapon ever made, full of magical power. It's been around since the early ages. So it's my job as a certified Swordsman to collect the sword and make it mine! I've gotten rumor that it is stored deep in a cave about a mile out of town to the east. If you can get me the sword, I will pay you the 90,000 jewel, as promised."

"Are there any threats guarding the sword? Any enchantments, maybe enemy wizards?" I asked, crossing my arms.

"Well… I have no idea. Haven't checked the rumor out at all. I have a good source but they said nothing about any magic." Irvin explained, "So you'll have to see for yourself."

Levy and I exchanged a glance. This wasn't exactly a hard quest, so I suppose we'll have to go through with it. We came all this way, and I even put on a cute show for the little creeper swordsman.

"We'll do it!" Jet exclaimed, seeing the look that Levy and I had exchanged.

Droy grinned confidently, "You can count on us."

Before I knew it the swordsman was shooing us out, "Good, Good, now get going." He said as he pushed us out of the back room, out of the shop, and closed the door behind us with the sound of the little bells.

"Well… that was interesting." Levy said out loud, as we began to walk awkwardly away from the shop.

"It's still a job though. Let's get going, and try to find this cave. I want us to be done by tonight so we can get back to the guild tomorrow, after the other job." I grumbled, having a bad feeling about this job.

I mean it was an odd little man, asking us to find a magical sword, in a cave we know nothing about, and he had disrespected my outfit! Maybe I need a new outfit... a dress? no. Armor like Erza? hmm no. Maybe I'll ask Cana to go shopping with me when I get back.

But for now, we have a job to do, whether we like it or not.

"But first, let's get some lunch, I'm starving!" Droy complained.

"I agree, we need some food before we go into this weird cave." Jet nodded.

I could feel my stomach was empty, I hadn't eaten since… hmm. When was the last time? Oh right, I had a smoothie this morning… And I think I ate an apple before coming to the guild. But that's it.

Levy looked at me for an answer and I sighed.

"Alright, let's find somewhere to eat."

This might take longer than I thought…


	9. Chapter Seven: Benji the Powerful Nerd

**(A villain is introduced in this story… well sort of a villain. It's kind of complicated but he's really just a wannabe villain, kind of like the jiggle butt gang.)**

"So, Should we make a plan before heading into this so called mystical cave?" I was asking Levy a while later.

We were sitting inside a small café, eating quietly. Jet and Droy though were eating a lot, but Levy was a quiet eater, and I was just not talking and eating normally. Though I had a big appetite, I remember Laxus once teased me that I was like an angry bear when I was hungry.

Thinking of Laxus made my heart ache, so I've been trying not to, but everything seems to remind me of him. But I couldn't be his friend, his nakama, until he found his way on his own. Not until he discovered where he stands.

I haven't learned my way yet either… I might be a Fairy Tail Wizard, and I might be an S class, but that didn't make me any more powerful than any of my friends. It was just a title, and I have a feeling I earned it just by being lucky. Perhaps I'll think on that again someday.

Levy nodded, "Yeah, I guess we should. A plan… Well how can we make a plan if we know nothing about it?"

Droy took a break from stuffing his face to say, "I think we should just go in there. I mean what can be so dangerous that we can't handle it?"

"That's right! We're team shadow gear plus Mona! We can totally handle this." Jet agreed, having the decency to swallow before talking.

I chuckled, "Alright then, it's decided. We'll go in there on a whim and see how it ends up. Sounds good to me." It actually sounded crazy but I'm sure a job that is only 90,000 jewels isn't that dangerous. I glanced at the two guys that were eating. "When you two are done stuffing your faces we'll go."

Jet made a pouty face, "You're so mean, Mona!"

Levy just laughed lightly, and Droy shrugged.

After we all finished eating we made our way through town. We took a quick stop at a magic store to spend a moment, but the prices was outrageous and the only thing we found was an ancient book about magical weapons from ancient times that Levy bought.

Levy put it in her bag and we continued on our way.

Following Irvin's directions, we finally came to a cave entrance. It was foggy and dark and was giving me creepy vibes.

"Am I the only one who doesn't like this?" I grumbled, as we stared at the cave.

Jet and Droy grimly looked at Levy and I, as if begging not to go in.

Levy sighed, "This place gives me the creeps too, but we need to finish the quest and not waste more time."

"You're right. Let's go." I agreed.

So Levy and I trudged ahead, having to drag Jet and Droy in since they were comically faking tears, and pleading not to go in.

But once we were further into the cave they stopped whining… it might have been because I threatened them with kicking them out of the hotel room we would get tonight. They could sleep in the cold for all I care, if they were going to bug me the entire trip.

So far so good, as we walked carefully into the cave. It was dark and damp, and then suddenly Jet and Droy let out grunts as they ran into an invisible wall.

Levy and I both stepped back from them as a rune square appeared around Jet and Droy.

"What the hell?! Let us out of here!" Droy yelled, hitting against the rune wall.

I peered up at the rune markings and read, "All boys must stay here until I, Benji, am defeated."

All of a sudden torches lit up, a line of them along the cave wall on each side of us, leading to what I believe is a stage.

There were big curtains and when they were pulled back they revealed a… guy? No, a boy. A young boy, I would guess 15 at most. And he was obviously a giant nerd.

He was slim and awkward, standing there holding the golden sword Excalibur, though he was holding it as if it were a wooden prop or something, striking some pose. He didn't have a fighting stance at all, he wasn't even holding it right. He had a light yellowish green, kind of neon colored hair, kind of, which was combed neatly but hid a bit of his face **(Kind of like Tora from Maid Sama)** . His eyes were a soft yellow color, and I assumed I would think he was cute if he didn't look so out of place. His clothes were ragged and mismatches, and he looked like he was trying to look impressive.

"I am the great and powerful Benji! Lord of magic, wielder of the Legend Sword Excalibur! Who dares come challenge me, oh fair maidens?!" The boy declared.

I felt like he was trying to cosplay something but he looked serious, and that made me want to laugh even more. I just put my hands on my hips, "We've come to take Excalibur. My name is Mona Alberona, S Class Mage, Water Dragon Slayer, from Fairy Tail." I said seriously, trying not to smirk at my chance to boast.

Levy stood strong beside me, "And I'm Levy Mcgarden, Solid Script mage, from Fairy Tail, member of Team Shadow Gear."

Not wanting to be left out, since they were fuming mad from being stuck, Jet and Droy struck identical poses.

"I'm Sarusuke, but people call me Jet! I'm the fastest member of Fairy Tail, no one can beat my speed! I'm a part of Team Shadow Gear!" Jet exclaimed.

"I'm Droy, Plant Magic User from Fairy Tail. And I'm also a member of Team Shadow Gear!" Droy yelled, still furious about the runes.

Benji pointed his sword at Jet and Droy, "I'm not interested in you two schmucks, I only want to fight the maidens! You are beneath my power!" He turned to me and Levy, pointing his sword, his gaze determined in an Otaku kind of way, "You two! Beautiful ladies, fight me now!"

By now I couldn't stand it, I burst out laughing so loud my sides hurt, as I stood there shaking and laughing.

Benji looked bewildered, "You dare to laugh at me?!"

"This is just too funny." I choked out once my laughter had semi-stopped. "You want to fight us? Do you even know how to use that sword? I'll tell you something that the dragon that taught me magic told me. Magic is strong. Magic comes from yourself, from your heart. If you try to use it without knowing what you're doing, you'll be putting yourself in danger. I'll tell you, kid, It takes years to master magic, much less a magic sword."

He stared at me, his jaw dropping, his eyes widening to the size of saucers. It was if he hadn't seen me until now.

I scowled, pointing a finger at him, "What are you staring at, kid?!"

"I'm going to win a fight against you and make you my girlfriend!" He declared.

That was… wow. Levy stared at me as I changed my demeanor, my face becoming very red and then all at once I became pale as a ghost. I felt like I had turned white as I comically sunk to the floor.

"N-No way…" I whispered in shock. "No way… L-Levy H-H-Help!" I whined, terrified at the prospect of becoming that brat's girlfriend.

Levy awkwardly patted my head, "Come on! Get up, Mona-Chan! Fight him and win and then we can get the sword and go home!"

Jet and Droy both yelled dramatically, "AND THEN WE CAN BE LET OUT OF THESE RUNES!"

I slowly stood up, feeling drained by shock, but then I was feeling determined. I made my hands into fists, and turned to the nerdy brat. "Thanks Levy, Jet, Droy. I feel much better." I said.

"Well?! What are you waiting for, pipsqueak, you wanted a fight, didn't you?! Come and fight me!" I roared, my dragon temper showing, and I made sure to show off my pointy teeth.

That sure startled Benji, but he soon nodded, determined as well.

"You're mine!" He yelled, running forward with the sword pointed in front of him, leaping off his stage, towards me.

He wasn't even holding the sword right, this would be an easy fight.

And that's when he raised the sword up to strike me.


	10. Chapter Eight

_CLANG!_

"What… how… why-" Benji stammered.

I smirked. I was holding the blade of the sword with my hand. And wow did it hurt. The sword was definitely magical, I could tell, as I was struggling not to pull back in pain. But I kept a strong hold on the blade as blood dripped from my hand.

"Pathetic. That sword should be able to slice through me. I have to admit I expected better, kid. In the hands of a true swordsman, and in the hands of someone who can wield a magical weapon, that sword would be pretty tough to beat. You have a lot to learn, squirt, until you can do damage with it." I told him, my voice calm. "But I came all the way here, because I have a quest to finish. Now you're going to give me that sword, release my nakama, and let us be on our way. Got it?"

My voice was indeed calm, but no one could mistake the venom beneath the calm. There was a reason Water Dragons can switch emotions so fast. They say the calm comes before the storm, after all.

"B-But I can't lose to you!" Benji exclaimed, his eyes shining suddenly, "Your beauty empowers me, and I shall make you my girlfriend!"

Levy made a face and so did I. I couldn't believe this goofball. "Listen kid, I'm not going to be your girlfriend. That's not how you love a girl. You show the girl you can protect her, you can laugh and smile and be kind to her. You show the girl how much she means to you. You DO NOT act like she's a trophy." I lectured him, still having a tight hold on the sword.

"Mona-Chan, why don't you finish this fight? We need to hurry if we want to be done by nightfall." Levy reminded me.

I sighed, "So Troublesome. Fine." Benji's eyes widened as I took a deep breath. I could feel the magical power in me welling up, the water in my belly rising. I leaned back slightly before opening my mouth and leaning towards Benji, the huge gush of water rushing forward, "Roar of the water Dragon!"

The water hit him full force, making him let go of the sword and fly back, hitting the cave wall.

I smiled in my little victory, a part of me wanting to do a childish little spin. Instead I flipped the Sword into the air so it spun, and I grabbed it by the handle, flinching slightly because my hand was still bleeding.

The sword seemed to glow just slightly, as if it knew it was in the hands of a mage.

Benji was lying flat on his back, next to the slightly crumbled cave wall. He was definitely down for the count.

"WOOHOO WE'RE FREE!" I heard two male voices cheering. I turned to look at Droy and Jet. The runes had disappeared and they were skipping around like idiots.

"Don't be so happy about it. You're only free because I beat this brat." I said, my mood turned sour because of the throbbing stinging pain in my bleeding hand.

Jet and Droy looked depressed now.

"She's right, we didn't even get to fight." Droy whined.

"We're sorry Mona, thank you for freeing us. We'll fight on the next mission!" Jet declared, though he looked like a sad puppy.

I rolled my eyes, "Tch. Don't thank me, it's what Nakama do."

Levy-chan had noticed my wound, "Oh Mona-Chan! Your hand is bleeding!"

I sighed, glancing at my hand, "It's fine, I'll bandage it in a minute. First thing is first, Levy-Chan. Can you summon a solid script rope or something?" I asked, glancing at Benji.

I saw Levy raise a hand and the word Rope appeared in Japanese writing. She spoke the word out loud, "Rope." A long brown rope appeared in front of me in the air. I grabbed it.

"Thanks Levy-Chan!"

"What are you using it for?" Jet asked me.

I looked back at the unconscious Benji. I kind of felt bad for the kid, I mean he easily was knocked out by one hit of my roar. And he looked so defeated and he really had wanted to win, I could tell.

"I can't leave him here. We'll drag him with us and leave him in the lobby of whatever hotel we go to… and then we'll leave for home. I mean we got done early, so we can camp out somewhere and take the first train in the morning." I explained, quickly making a new plan in my head.

Droy looked irritated, "Why can't we just leave him? He trapped us in runes!"

Levy turned toward him, "Don't be rude Droy, Mona-Chan is right."

I handed Levy Excalibur and sat the unconscious Benji up, tieing him up with the rope. Levy made a solid script, "Clean." And the sword was wiped clean of blood.

"Alright, now we can get going." I said, relieved, but levy shook her head.

"No way, first you need to bandage that hand." She ordered, "Sit down, I'll get some solid script bandages and fix your hand up."

I scowled, "But Levy Its really fine I don't need-"

"Jet, Droy." Levy ordered, interrupting me.

"Aye, Aye, Levy-Chan!" Both the boys echoed, and grabbed me by the arms.

I struggled like a little kid as they picked me up and plopped me down on a big rock to sit, "Come on guys I'll be good, let go!" I whined childishly. I could have gotten loose but I guess Levy was right, I can't just let my hand keep bleeding. I would have healed it myself with the little bit of healing magic I had, but it was a magical wound, and it would cancel out my healing magic.

"Just sit still, Mona!" Jet scolded me, as Droy grabbed my wrist to hold my injured hand out to Levy.

I pouted and tried making a cute innocent face, "Please let go of me Droy, Jet…" I pleaded in my softest voice.

Droy stared at me before making a determined face, "That won't work on us, Mona! We only have eyes for Levy!" He declared, and Jet nodded.

Levy didn't seem to notice, busy writing out the word for "Bandage."

I scowled, "Traitors." I muttered in a childish tantrum kind of way. I hated looking weak and needing bandages.

Levy made a Tsk sound as she cleaned my hand up and wrapped bandages around the cut from the sword. When she was done she looked seriously at me.

"Mona-Chan! You better be careful with that hand, okay?" She warned me.

"Don't worry so much. I'll be fine." I assured her.

Jet and Droy glanced at Levy then at me. They reminded me of Meerkats, the way they stood tall like that looking from side to side.

Jet spoke, "So, are we going to get going? It's going to get dark soon, but if we can catch the last train, we might be able to get back tonight and camp out closer to our next job."

I sighed, "Alright, let's go. We'll drop Benji off at the nearest hotel, and then we'll go to Irvin."

And so we walked out of the cave, with me dragging the unconscious and tied up Benji along.

When we reached the hotel I said, "You guys go ahead to Irvin's Swordship, I'll drop Benji off inside."

"Are you sure, Mona-Chan?" Levy asked me.

"Yeah. I'll catch up." I told her. "Watch after that sword."

They headed down the street and I grabbed the rope that held Benji, and pulled him to his feet, dragging him into the lobby.

Thankfully no one was there, it was such a small hotel that there wasn't a need for anyone at the desk, not at the moment.

I plopped Benji in a chair as he began waking up.

"Huh? Mona… Why did you bring me here?" He asked groggily, as I began untying him.

I rolled my eyes, "Do you really think I'm so awful I'd just leave unconscious in a cave? I might have won but even I wouldn't do that."

He looked down sadly, looking like a lost puppy now, "But I lost… I don't deserve your kindness, nor do I want your pity."

I could tell he was surprised when I placed my hand on his head. He peered up at me in astonishment.

"I'm not pitying you. And I'm not being kind. If I had left you there I wouldn't be worthy of a rematch. Listen kid, If you really are serious about wanting to beat me, then try your hardest. You train, You improve your magic, you make something of yourself. Maybe you could even join a guild." I gave a soft smile, "I'll be waiting for you to get better, and then we can have a proper rematch. What do you say?"

He was speechless for a moment before his eyes became all starry and he looked like… well he reminded me of a devoted guy to his hero, kind of like how Droy and Jet act around Levy.

"I promise, Mona! I'll get stronger and someday I'll show you how much I've improved!" He swore to me.

I laughed lightly and patted his head, "Good. See you around, kid."

And with that I removed my hand from his head and made a thumbs up with my bandaged hand. I turned and left, raising a hand in goodbye as I went out of view.

I was being honest when I said I looked forward to a rematch. He might be a dork now, and I certainly don't see him as boyfriend material, but he had a spark of determination in his eyes and I could tell with a bit of training he'd be a great mage.

Who knows, maybe he might actually beat me someday. But considering I took him out with one hit, he'll need to improve quite a lot.

Now to finish up this job.


	11. Chapter Nine: Camping

**(So the next chapter is going to be a flashback chapter because Mona is telling some stories… so yeah.)**

"Hey guys wait up!" I called as I ran after Team Shadow Gear.

The sun was beginning to set, so the town of Clover was illuminated in the view of the reddish pink sky. I had pulled the blue bow from my hair and tied it around my wrist, so my short brown curls were slightly in my face, but it was nice for it to be loose sometimes.

I had left the hotel and ran after my friends, hoping they weren't too far ahead. Due to Levy being considerate, they had stopped to wait from me not far from the hotel.

Soon we were continuing through the town towards Irvin's Swordship.

As soon as we walked in there was a demanding voice shouting at us.

"YOU, MAGES OF FAIRY TAIL. HAVE YOU BROUGHT ME EXCALIBUR?!"

A tiny sword was pointed in our faces, and there stood a green haired little man with a serious attitude. I would be so glad when this job was over.

Levy held out the sword, "Yes sir, We've got it."

Irvin glanced at the sword before stating, "Report to me what happened."

I spoke up, "We found the cave. Once going in there was a kid, a boy about 15 years old. He trapped Jet and Droy," I paused so Jet and Droy could raise their hands to show they were the ones that got trapped, "In runes. And then he told Levy and I to fight him. He came at me, I quickly beat him, and got the sword. And we returned here."

Irvin was quiet a moment before giving a wise looking nod. "Good, Good. And what happened to Benji?" I was surprised he knew Benji's name.

"We brought him back into town and dropped him off at the hotel, not far from here. I talked to him, and he won't be causing any more trouble." I hesitantly explained.

Irvin chuckled, "Good to hear. You've fulfilled what I asked of you. I'll get you the 90,000 jewels, as promised. And you may keep the sword."

Levy, Jet, Droy, and I all had dumbstruck expressions. We had been asked to get the sword… now he wanted us to keep it?

"Huh?!" Jet and Droy echoed.

"What do you mean we can keep the sword?!" I asked, shocked.

Irvin chuckled, and swished his sword in the air. "I'm no mage, I could never wield a sword like Excalibur. And furthermore, I cannot sell it in fear it would end up in the wrong hands. I knew Benji had the sword, the brat. He is my assistant on occasion, he's had an obsession with that sword for years. I knew he was just going to cause trouble or get himself in danger. In truth I just hoped you could get the sword from him, I never intended to keep it. I'll reward you for your trouble and you can keep the sword safe."

"So… you're saying we came here to get the sword, and now we're being told to keep it and protect it?" Droy asked him.

Irvin fiercely pointed his small sword at Droy, "That's exactly what I'm saying! Are you incompetent, boy?! Only a mage can handle that sword. I am a true purveyor of the magical weapons of history! My true love, my dear weapons. And as such, I must protect them from falling into the wrong hands. There is nothing worse than a priceless weapon being used improperly, for the wills of those who follow the paths of the evil and the greedy. As a swordsmen, I must keep such a weapon out of those hands."

He began to pace back and forth, standing tall despite being so small, "Which is why I entrust it to Fairy Tail. Do with it what you see fit."

All four of us were stunned by his speech.

"Thank you, Irvin. We'll protect it. Now um… about our jewels…" I began.

"Earn some patiences, wench!" Irvin fumed at me, "And put on better clothes!" I scowled at the mention of my clothes. What a tight wad.

A half hour later, after thanking Irvin again, we left. We had gained our rewarded jewels and split them up between the four of us.

And so the complaints begin to be known.

"I can't believe we didn't even get to fight that brat." Droy whined.

"We didn't even get to do anything, Mona-Chan and Levy-Chan did all the work!" Jet agreed miserably.

"Will you two shut up?" I groaned, annoyed. "We did the job, we got the sword, we got our reward. Do you two seriously need to show off on every job? You'll have your chance in the morning, on our other job to do."

Levy spoke up, "Mona-Chan is right, we have another job to do. Speaking of that, what should we do tonight? We could stay at the hotel or we could camp out in the canyon near the Train station, so we can leave for Magnolia in the morning."

"Hmm. Well I'll make a list of pros and cons for each." I decided.

We had stopped by a fountain in the middle of town.

After thinking a moment, I spoke, "If we stay in the hotel we get comfy beds. We get room service, any food we want. We get hot baths. But we also might have to deal with noisy other guests. As well as the fact hotels are really boring, and we'd all be cramped in a small room. Plus I don't trust hotels. If we camp out we get to make a nice bright warm campire. We get to eat camp worthy foods, including smores. We would be able to lay out on blankets and watch the stars, and tell stories, scary or not. And with Levy-Chan's Solid script it would be pretty easy to camp out. The bad things… well it is a canyon, might be some snakes, but that won't be too bad. It's a nice night out so we don't have to worry about being cold or hot."

It was really getting dark now, only a few lanterns lighting up the area, but not too dark as the stars began to come out, shining in the dark sky.

Levy seemed to agree with my thinking, "Well I'd love to go camping. We haven't gone camping in a long time."

"I agree with Levy!" Jet and Droy said together.

I shrugged, "Camping sounds good."

"Then it's decided. Let's find a place to camp outside town, but near the station. We'll get up early and get on the first train to Magnolia." Levy told us.

I nodded and together we headed to find a good spot to camp.

Once darkness had completely fallen, we had found a cave in the canyon beneath the station. It was perfect.

Levy was busily summoning solid script items, first she summoned wooden logs, which I set up for the fire, then she summoned fire. Then she summoned blankets and sleeping bags.

And finally she summoned marshmallows, chocolate, and those delicious cinnamon tasting crackers.

"it's been so long since we've had a proper camp out like this. Remember that one time, Levy-Chan?" I said happily.

We were all sitting around the fire now, making smores, ready to share some stories.

"Oh right! The first mission when you came back to Fairy Tail." Levy remembered, grinning.

Droy blinked, "What mission?"

I glanced at him and Jet, who both were munching on their smores, "Oh I almost forgot, you two didn't go on that mission. It was the first mission I took when I came back to Fairy Tail, a couple months ago."

"Oh, we must have been on that mission with Elfman." Jet realized.

I nodded, taking a bite of my warm gooey smore. Once I swallowed I said, "It went like this."

**Flashback**

**(Note: For when she's telling flashback stories, the italic writing is part of what she's saying to them in real time… not everything she says but specific parts. And colored Italics are what others are saying.)**

_Levy-Chan and I were on a mission together, an escort mission for some timid boy who was scared of everything._

"A F-Fire?! But that's dangerous! Shouldn't we find a hotel or somewhere to say? Camping in the wilderness is scary!" The little boy cried out.

I sighed, "Calm down. Once you do that, you'll see that not everything is harmful. And once you see that, you can have fun. Have you ever once had fun? It doesn't seem like it."

"Fun?" He asked, his blue eyes wide. He wasn't little, actually, he was about 13.

"Yeah. You know, hang out with your Nakama, go crazy a little, relax? Having fun. Stuff like that."

Levy nodded, "She's right. Or even by yourself you can have fun. Like a nice new book."

The boy blinked at us, as Levy set up a fire. He was so busy sitting there, dumbstruck, that he didn't notice his ridiculously long caped outfit had caught on fire.

"AHHH HELP! WATER! WATER! MY CAPE'S ON FIRE!" He was screeching while running around hysterically.

_I have to admit it was Hilarious. Levy had to convince me to put out the fire because I was too busy laughing._

When I stopped laughing and used my water to put the flames out, the boy was so upset it was nearly impossible to calm him down.

_"__So how did you calm him down?" Droy asked me._

I knew how to calm him down. I simply began laughing and I said, "At least you know you're alive."

That made him stop. And he looked at me, bewildered, "What?!"

"You know you're alive. Fire is one of your fears, isn't it? Well you just faced fire, and won. When you ignore your feelings and run from your fears, you aren't really living your life. You're being a shadow of yourself, letting your fears and feelings control you. But when you're strong enough to face your fears, you know you're alive. My uncle told me once that fear isn't a bad thing. Your fear shows you what your weakness is, and you can be a stronger person because of that." I explained.

When I saw the young boy looking confused, I smiled, "It's hard to explain."

Levy had looked at the fire I had put out and asked him, "Is it okay if I relight the fire?"

And to both our surprise, the boy nodded.

**End of flashback**

"Oh wow. So you taught that boy to face his fear." Jet sounded surprised.

I made a light snorting sound, "Not really. By the end of the trip he was still scared by everything."

"But Mona, he did overcome his fear of fire." Levy reminded me.

"He sat so far from the fire he probably couldn't even feel the heat." I told her.

"True…"

Droy spoke up, "Let's hear more stories. Mona, you haven't really told anyone about what went on while you were off training. In fact, I don't even know how you met Herona and became a dragon slayer. And how are you related to Gildarts again?"

I sighed. "Okay… this will take a while to tell you all."

And so my story telling began.


	12. Flashback Chapter 1

**(So this chapter might suck because it's sort of a mixture of Mona explaining and having flashbacks. But I thought it would help to have a bit more background on her life and bring together the timeline a little more. Italics are her talking to team Shadow Gear, back in normal time. And colored italics are them talking back to her, but not replying… more like tidbits of conversation.)**

_So You wanted to know how I'm related to Gildarts? Well you three already know Cana is my cousin._

My mother was Gildart's Sister. And Cana's Mother's Brother is my father. In fact that's how Cana's mother and my uncle Gildarts met, is Gildarts met my Mother's boyfriend, and then met Cana's mother.

So I get my looks from my father, my hair color and eyes, so that's why I look more like Cana than Gildarts. But Uncle Gildarts often says I'm just like my mother is personality.

My father and my mother was a member of Fairy Tail, my mother a requip mage like Erza, while my father had giant magic, a lot like Master.

_How I met Herona? Well… now that's a story to tell._

I had been sitting in the guild hall, very young. Many members we know of today weren't there. But there was Gramps, and of course I knew Laxus, but I wasn't really close with him back then.

My father and mother had gone on a quest, and they were late getting back. They had gone with Gildarts.

And that's the moment when Gildarts walked into the guild.

I looked up with joy, hoping to see my parents with him. I was so happy they… he was back. I wore a purple short sleeved shirt, and a black skirt, my brown hair that was long back then was in pigtails.

As soon as I saw my uncle's expression, I knew something was terribly wrong.

"Uncle… Gildarts?" I asked softly, standing up.

Master had also noticed, "Gildarts. What is it? What happened? Where is-"

Gildarts interrupted him but falling to his knees, tears welling in his eyes, "Dead. They're dead, both of them."

Gasps rang around the room. Two of Fairy Tail's S-Class wizards… My parents… dead?

Mirajane, a friend of mine, looked at me with wide eyes.

In fact, everyone was staring at me.

Tears welled in my eyes and I ran out the door, not realizing it was storming out. Shouts of my name followed me but I kept running, into the rain.

Once I was far from Fairy Tail, I came to my senses. The lightning, the thunder, the dark clouds. I was terrified. And I was lost, in the dark, I couldn't even tell where I was.

_"__Woah, Mona. What did you do?" Jet asked me. The whole Team Shadow Gear was watching me with wide eyes as I told my story._

Well Being lost, and scared, I did what any little kid would do. I kept running.

Hours of running later I stopped, as the storm began to clear and the sun showed a new morning.

I had ended up deep in the woods, right next to a waterfall. Now, I was tired and scared and hungry, and distraught. So I walked to the waterfall, and sat on the shore.

I cried for a while, releasing the feelings of embarrassment from running away, the feelings of sorrow and hate from my parents dying. I hadn't stayed long enough to hear the details, I had just… froze. And I had been a coward, and ran away.

I was all alone now.

"Little girl. How have you come across my home?" A deep voice hissed at me. I knew right away it wasn't human, it's difficult to describe the almost hiss like sound of the voice.

I turned startled, and found myself face to face with a dragon.

Herona, The Water Dragon. She was shaped very much like Igneel, with tough scales that were shiny greens and blues, the colors of the freshest parts of the sea, with a few dark purple scales mixed in. She was magnificent, huge, with wings that were currently folded shut but I could imagine they were gigantic when held out at full length. She had gill flap wings on each side of her head, and her tail was long with big spikes to help with swimming fast. She was curled around a big rock at the top of the Water Fall, her cerulean eyes on me, sharp but kind.

My eyes widened and I tripped backwards, landing on my butt in the shallow water. "A dragon! Y-You're a dragon!" I exclaimed, shocked.

Herona let out a low chuckling sound, "Yes, I am. Now please, answer my question. Why are you here? And why do your eyes let out rain drops?"

I found that incredibly funny, it made me giggle. I wiped the tears from my eyes, standing, "I ran away from my home, because my parents… My parents died." My voice shook, my bottom lip quivering as I fought the urge to cry again, "So I ran away… And that's why I'm crying."

I had heard stories of dragons. They were rare creatures, so many wouldn't believe it if you said you'd met a dragon. But they were beautiful, powerful, and I couldn't help but be amazed just by looking at one.

"Do not weep, child. The sun is out, you must rejoice." Herona told me. She always had an old fashioned, soft way of talking. "My name is Herona, The Water Dragon, dragon of the sea. Can you tell me your name?"

"My name is Mona!" I declared strongly. "Mona Alberona, from Fairy Tail, the strongest guild in all of Fiore! Well… I don't know magic yet but someday I'll be an S-Class mage, just you wait and see!"

Somehow it seemed like the memory of hearing my parents had died was far away, and the dragon in front of me was opening my future.

Herona let out that same chuckling noise and began uncurling herself gracefully from the giant stone, almost like a snake, making no sound as she slithered gently down the rocky top of the waterfall, and onto the shore beside me, her huge feet making marks in the soft river bed dirt.

"If it is magic you wish to learn, I can certainly teach you. How would you like to become a Water Dragon Slayer? It is fate, after all, only the chosen few come across a dragon. I have been waiting for my dragon slayer for many years, and here you are. I will teach you to be a strong as a powerful current, as agile and quick as a hurricane, as gentle and quiet as the dawn's first ray of light, and as calm as the moment before the storm." She told me.

I was stunned, "A… dragon slayer?" I asked.

That was how I met Herona, and how I started my path to learning the ways of a Dragon.

_"__But Mona-Chan, What about when Herona went missing, and then you left Fairy Tail again. What did you do to train for so many years?" Levy asked me._

Good Question, Levy-Chan.

I traveled. In my time as Herona's apprentice… no, her adopted daughter… She had showed me everything she could. She showed me all the water dragon slayer spells, even the secret ones that she forbid me to use unless really needed. She told me of other dragons, ones of fire, light, shadow, lightning, ice, earth, iron, even sky. Any type of element really, and there was a dragon for it.

She used her magic on me to make my body as strong as any dragons, my teeth as sharp as their fangs, my skin able to turn into strong scales, my fists able to strike with the force and water of a water dragon. I even am able to store water in a special part of my body, and use it in my fighting, or even make it boiling hot, or freezing cold.

I learned of dragon slayers like me, like Natsu, who would learn the same things but in their own elemental version. Herona told me we were chosen children, fate had brought us to lose our family so that we would find our dragon. And somehow, I got over my parents death, accepting Herona and Fairy Tail as my family.

But the most important thing I learned from her was her wisdom. The calm before the storm, as she likes to say, is the most important thing to use to my advantage. I learned the strengths and weaknesses of water, I learned to accept water as an extension of myself. In a way, everything I learned changed me into who I am today.

So the second time I left Fairy Tail, I was prepared. I still had the mark, I still was a Fairy Tail wizard. But I knew I needed to learn more if I ever wanted to be worthy of being in Fairy Tail.

I had left a note to Laxus, and ran away, taking a small bag of clothes and other keepsakes.

Well… I didn't have many keep sakes. I had the ring that Laxus gave me, which was able to be used like a communication Lacrima, but I hadn't contacted the guild the whole time I was gone. I also had a picture of my parents.

In fact, Reedus had drawn me it.

When I returned after the first time running away, I was about eleven or twelve years old. Everyone was happy I was safe and sound, and I was welcomed back and became a mage of Fairy Tail, since I had learned magic from Herona. Surprisingly they had accepted the fact I was a dragon slayer.

It had been a week after my return when Reedus walked over to me.

"Mona. I wanted to give you this, I drew it shortly after you left, so you wouldn't forget what they looked like. You were so young… I saved it for when you returned, and now here you are." He told me, handing me the paper.

On it was two people drawn out. My mother and father, standing side by side. My mother was a tall, slender woman, with the same curves as me, the same chest size too. She had Long straight ginger hair, tied up in a pony-tail in the picture. She had big beautiful brown eyes too, almost doe like. She wore a short sleeved pink dress with a skirt that flowed long in the back but was cut open from the right thigh and down, to reveal her long legs. She was beautiful, much more beautiful than I could ever be.

Next to her was my father. His short yet curly brown hair framed his strong, cheerful face. They used to say my father didn't know how to stop smiling. I had heard he was quite the ball of energy. He wore along sleeved white dress shirt and black pants, his arm curled protectively around my mother's waist. He too had brown eyes but they were sharper, more refined, and in the light they looked purple.

My eyes filled with tears at the sight, and my bottom lip trembled, "Reedus… Thank you. I…" I was speechless.

But you wanted to know about my second time traveling.

Well, without Herona, it was difficult. I became a sort of independent mage, taking jobs, meeting people. There were two humans Herona knew, who taught me more magic. One taught me thought projection.

The other taught me transformation magic… kind of like Take Over but different.

_"__Transformation Magic? I've never seen you use that, Mona." Levy told me._

_"__I don't use it. Unless it is needed. You wouldn't want to see me use it, trust me." I assured her._

And so I traveled. From age fifteen to age twenty-two, I was on my own. I never stayed in one place too long. I met many people, mages with so many different kinds of magic, or even normal people.

But I said goodbye to them all.

I trained my dragon slayer magic, I learned thought projection, and now Erza is teaching me the basics of requip, though I won't use it for armor or weapons like she does.

And that is the basic story of how I met Herona, how I'm related to Gildarts, how Reedus helped me remember my parents, what I learned from Herona, and how I traveled on my own to train.


	13. Chapter Ten: Back in Magnolia

**Back to fully present time**

"You must have been pretty lonely though, right Mona?" Droy asked me.

"Yeah, being on your own for so many years." Jet agreed.

I smiled softly, staring at the now dwindling flames of the camp fire, "Actually, I wasn't alone. Sure I got lonely, but I met so many amazing friends along the way. So I traveled alone but I met so many people that most of the time I didn't feel alone. And I was determined to train, to get stronger. I swore that no matter how much I wanted to come back, no matter how much I dreamed of being with the guild again, I couldn't until I knew I was ready."

Levy looked slightly sad, "Imagine how hard that must have been on Laxus, for you to leave with no explanation. You two were pretty close, after all. He gave you that ring, didn't he?"

I stopped short, staring at her. Hard on Laxus? I hadn't thought of that. I hadn't considered how he must have felt, how he must have wanted me back. In fact I think I blocked out thinking of how the guild would feel, because if I had thought about them like that I would have rushed back without another second to waste.

But surely Laxus moved on from that.

I absentmindedly nodded, raising my hand to look at the amethyst ring in the low fire light.

"You're right Levy! I remember how Laxus acted when Mona left, he was so moody. One second he would be sitting tensely, completely cold looking, the next he would punch the wall or flip a table over. He was pretty miserable, he even searched for Mona on every mission he went on." Jet mentioned.

Droy nodded, "Yeah, he went on job after job, hoping to find her along the way. And then when his dad got kicked out, he was really scary. Definitely changed."

I was looking down now, my eyes half-lidded as I fought to hide how watery they were getting. My bottom lip was quivering as the tight feeling in my chest warned me of oncoming tears. I pulled my knees up to my chest, not looking at my friends.

Levy had noticed my state of distress, and helpfully changed the subject, "Anyway, we should get some rest to be ready for tomorrow."

"Right. I wonder if Natsu and Lucy found Macao." I said, finding my voice and silently thanking Levy for hiding my mini break down.

It was hard on me, because I felt so guilty now that I considered how Laxus must have felt. That must be why he acts so cold now… so different. It was my fault… I hadn't said a proper goodbye, I had just left, and I had been gone so long…

I blinked to get rid of my tears, trying to calm myself at least for the moment.

Levy replied, "I'm sure they have. Natsu won't give up on him, I'm sure of it."

We all murmured sounds of agreement.

Later that night we put out the fire and laid down to rest. I had placed my sleeping bag closest to the opening of the cave, so I could peer out into the quiet canyons and see above to the starry sky.

Looking at the stars, a part of me wondered how many times Laxus had looked at them, after I had left, and worried about me. He must have wondered where I was, if I was alive, if he'd ever see me again.

The thought of it made me feel hollow and sad. But I pushed those feelings, along with my guilt, away. I didn't regret leaving to train. Someday maybe Laxus will be the same old Laxus, and I'll be able to be forgiven.

But right now I need to get some rest for tomorrow's job.

I glanced back at the snoring Jet and Droy, who lay on either side of Levy, who was peacefully sleeping. She looked so small inbetween them. I can't believe she's able to sleep through those snores.

Sighing, I laid flat on my back and looked up at the stars, hoping I'd get some sleep.

Not soon after my eyelids drifted shut and I fell into the dark softness that was sleep.

**The Next Day**

"HURRY UP YOU KNUCKLEHEADS!" I shouted angrily at Jet and Droy.

"Coming Mona! We said we were sorry!" Jet yelled back to me.

We were hurrying up the canyon path, towards the train station, and were running late. If we didn't catch our train we'd have to wait two hours for the next one to Magnolia.

"It's all your faults! If you two hadn't slept in and been such slow pokes we wouldn't be late!" I growled at them.

Literally this morning Levy and I had gotten up early and cleaned up camp and we could not wake these two idiots up. It took forever and once we did they were incredibly slow at actually waking up.

And so the hour we had set aside to get to the station turned into half an hour, and this path was incredibly long, or at least it seemed to be.

Levy was pretty peeved too but being the kind person she was she already forgave them. "Mona-Chan, don't blame them too much. We'll get there just in time!"

I grumbled back to her as we ran along the dirt path, "Still, it's a pain to have to hurry."

Droy retorted, "Well then let's get there and then we can stop hurrying!"

I glared back at him and kept running.

A few minutes later we made it to the station, out of breath, and managed to get on the train in time.

Of course the whole train ride I was pale and weak and feeling like I would throw up. Droy and Jet joked about it the whole time so I made a mental note to punch them later. And Levy read a book.

By the time Droy and Jet dragged me off the train at Magnolia Station, I was already wanting to be back at the guild. But we have one more job to do first.

"So what exactly is this next job?" Jet asked me once I was standing on my own again.

I sighed, pulling the request paper out of my bag. It was pretty crinkled after Natsu tried destroying it.

"Well what I can make out from this ruined request is the name of the person asking is named Ikki Kinashi. And luckily, I know her." I replied, smiling.

"You know her?" Levy asked me as we walked through town.

I nodded, "Ikki lives not far from my house. A young woman, she has a young son but her husband died last year, had some type of illness, they couldn't find a cure, it was magic. Her son is named Rohan." I explained.

"Must be tough on her." Droy remarked.

I shrugged, "I visit her every so often, sometimes I get a mood to bake so I'll bake and bring her something."

"Oh yeah! I remember those spice cakes you brought to the guild last month! Delicious." Jet exclaimed.

I shrugged, "Herona happened to think me learning human culture was very important, so she had a friend of hers teach me cooking. She taught me everything else though."

We were walking through the east forest now.

"So This is a request to clean out a thieves den? But you said you live nearby, have you noticed a thieves den?" Levy-Chan asked me.

I shook my head, "I haven't been spending much time at home, and I've been at the guild taking jobs lately. And I haven't noticed any thieves, so I don't think they've found my house yet. My house is pretty well hidden now that I think about it…"

I had never invited anyone from the guild to my new house. Well except Mirajane, but that was only because she offered to help me move in. Mira and I were never close growing up because she is younger than me and as a kid she was a bit hard to deal with, while I was mellower. So we had our differences and never got along.

Erza and Mirajane were always challenging me to fights, it got quite annoying. Now I'm close to both of them, as we are the only three S-Class females in the guild. I respect Erza's regard for the rules and her ability to scare people, and I have a lot in common with Mirajane now.

Erza hadn't had a chance to see my house yet, but Mirajane was quite a big help with painting and decorating and moving my stuff in, we had a huge sleepover once it was all done, it was actually quite fun.

"Well, You know where the lady's house is, so you lead the way, Mona. The sooner we finish this job the sooner we can head back to the guild." Jet told me.

I nodded, "This way."

I began at a run down the trail and they followed.

This wouldn't take long, I was sure of it. A nice fight to start the day off.


	14. Chapter Eleven: Brunch with Neighbors

**(So this chapter is really short, I didn't really want to add the fight scene because I was worried It would be too long for this one chapter and then I'd cut out the good parts. Fight scenes aren't my specialty, I really struggle with them, and so I put as many details as I can and they tend to be long. So next chapter, fight scene.)**

Not long later we came across the humble home of Ikki.

It was a small cottage, one bedroom, not as nice as the house I have but Ikki had always told me she liked the tiny home because she could keep a better eye on her son.

As soon as we stood at the door I raised my hand to knock but the ornate redwood door swung open before I could.

There stood Ikki, an average woman with brown hair that was put in a quick braid, dark almost black eyes, and she wore a simple blue short that hung loosely on her, and brown shorts. In front of her, leaning against her, was her son Rohan, a small boy about Romeo's age with big dark eyes like his mother and the same brown hair as well, but his was messy, framing his face sharply.

"Oh Mona! I saw you coming a mile away, my visual magic never fails. You have friends, oh please, all of you come in, I'll get some tea." She said, bustling away with the little boy before I could respond, leaving us to follow her.

This was how Ikki was. Fast-paced, energetic, chatty, and always welcoming. Such a sweet lady, really. She has magic, a visual magic that allows her to see within a five mile radius, like ex ray almost. But she doesn't really have any fighting magic, and she isn't interested in being in a guild. Rohan was different from his mother, he was quiet and observed his surroundings, and was very smart. If he ever joined Fairy Tail he'd be a very good mage. Though with Fairy Tail's rowdy atmosphere, maybe the poor kid would be better off staying FAR, FAR AWAY FROM THAT MADNESS. But it's his choice I suppose.

Ikki led us to the kitchen, a quant room with a six persona kitchen table.

"Please, Sit, Sit!" Ikki told us as she began bustling around the kitchen to make tea.

Rohan had already sat quietly, so Levy-Chan, Jet, Droy, and I sat at the table as well.

"It's been a while, Ikki." I said, smiling at her as she hurried around.

"Yes it has. Who are your friends? Why have you come to visit?" Ikki asked.

"Ikki, Rohan, these are some of my nakama from Fairy Tail. This is Levy Mcgarden, a solid script mage. Jet, one of the fastest wizards in Fairy Tail-" I was interrupted by jet.

"Actually I'm THE fastest." He put in.

I rolled my eyes and continued, "And this is Droy, a plant mage. The three of them are team Shadow Gear. We came because you put a request with the guild, something about a thieves den?"

Ikki paused, and then nodded, "Oh right. I didn't know you would be the one to take that request, Mona. Or else I would have asked you personally."

Levy spoke up, "Ikki-San, have you been robbed by these thieves? How did you find out about them?"

Rohan spoke up timidly for the first time, "Mom and I haven't met them, but I was trying to learn her visual magic and I saw them in their hideout."

Ikki spoke again, "It seems they steal from farther away, probably trying to hide their location."

I smiled and reached over to ruffle Rohan's hair, "Good work, you did well to spot them." I removed my hand and looked at Ikki, nodding, "You're probably right. We'll be able to take them out if we know where the hideout is. Are you sure you can make this a formal request? I wouldn't want to make you pay us 160,000 jewels if you can't afford it."

She shook her head, "It's fine, I earned a bonus at work. Just do your best to get rid of them, all of you. I'll draw you up a map and send you on your way. But first, who wants brunch?"

As if on cue, all four of our stomachs grumbled.

Levy, Jet, Droy, and I all looked at each other.

Levy smiled brightly at Ikki, "If it's not too much trouble, we'd love something to eat."

And so we enjoyed the morning, with Levy and I helping Ikki make breakfast, and Jet and Droy hanging out with Rohan.

We all sat to enjoy a great breakfast.

Two hours later we bid goodbye to Ikki and Rohan, and headed on our way. We had a small map in hand where Ikki had circled where the den was.

"We don't know how many there are. Maybe we should come up with a plan." Levy suggested.

We were now hiding behind some huge rocks, peering at the thieves' camp. There were quite a few of them, and there were tents so we couldn't know how many in total.

I could spot at least ten in view. I was guessing they weren't all wizards, and if they were they weren't strong ones.

"No. I don't think we need a plan, they won't be hard to fight." I replied after a moment's pause.

Jet nodded, "I think Mona is right."

Droy agreed, "We're from Fairy Tail, these guys don't stand a chance."

"Still, I would feel better if we had some kind of plan." Levy tried to convince us.

I thought a moment before saying, "How about you and I got first, Levy, and draw them out, and then I'll give the signal and Jet and Droy come in as a surprise attack? That way they think it's only two girls but then Jet and Droy attack as well, they realize it's more serious than they first thought."

Jet and Droy both grinned at me, And Jet said, "Great Plan! What's the signal?"

I rolled my eyes, "I'll just yell or something, you'll know when I signal."

Levy nodded, "Okay then. Should we just go in fighting or do we have a role to play?" She asked me.

I grinned, "It wouldn't be fun if we just went in fighting. Levy, Here's what I need you to do…"

**Half an hour later**

"This is perfect Levy! Let's go!" I said cheerfully.

She laughed lightly and we linked arms, ready to walk into the thief camp.

"Are you sure this is a good idea, Mona?" Droy asked, looking nervous.

Levy had used her solid script magic to conjure up a new outfit for me to wear. Since Levy already looked sweet and innocent, what she wore was fine. But I needed something to make me look less like a tough woman. Besides my outfit showed my guild mark.

I now wore a cute light pink tank top shirt with a short white jean skirt and pink flats. I had even added a pink bow to my short hair. Despite being tall and big chested, I was actually quite cute looking. I mean usually I used a sex appeal so I wasn't very good in the art of Cuteness, but we weren't really here to infiltrate. This was just a ploy.

I turned a cute, sweet smile on the boys, putting my hands on my hips, and making sure to flutter my eyelashes dramatically. "I always have good ideas. Do you two really think I would just send us recklessly into this?"

"Yes-" Droy began but Jet stopped promptly on his foot, causing him to begin a howl of pain but Jet quickly covered his mouth so he wouldn't blow our cover.

"Not at all, Mona! You would never do something so unpredictable." Jet exclaimed, smiling at me while Droy flailed to get out of his hold.

I rolled my eyes, "Jet, thank you for being such a suck up. Now let go of Droy, and wait for the signal like two good little boys. Come on, Levy-Chan."

So Jet let go of Droy and Levy and I left them there.

A moment later we walked into the camp.

And all the chatter and loud laughter from the rowdy men went silent.

Time to play.


	15. Chapter Twelve: Levy and Mona's Ploy

**(So the fight scene kind of sucked. I'm not good at fight scenes. Plus I wanted to make it quick and get further into the story. So yeah…)**

"Oi! Who's the pretty ladies?" A muscly man shouted, walking towards us.

The crowd of thieves guffawed as if it was hilarious.

I put on an innocent smile, "Um… We're kind of lost. I-If you could show us the way to Magnolia, we'd be grateful."

Levy was smiling at them too.

The man, who seemed to be the leader, had a confident smirk. The other thieves were emerging from tends and becoming a crowd around us.

"Well, Well. It wouldn't be courteous of us to not help pretty little things like you. How about you stay with us for a while, hmm?" The leader asked with a hearty laugh.

Levy giggled and I took a step closer to the leader, acting flirty as I hummed, "Want to know a secret?"

He leaned forward until his face was close to mine and I had to fight not to knee him in the gut. "Is it a flirty secret? Because if it is, I'm all ears."

I smirked and leaned back, "Well truth is, we're not lost. And we're not here looking to flirt. We're Fairy Tail wizards."

Immediately his expression changed and I spotted a guy to the right pulling out a sword. I turned quick as a snake and a blue magic circle appeared around my wrist as my right hand made a fist. Water swirled around my fist as I lunged forward and punched the guy hard, smashing him into the ground. _Water Dragon's Storm Fist. _

As all the thieves around us drew weapons I put a foot on the now unconscious guy's chest and decided it was time for backup.

"Jet! Now!" I yelled.

I saw a blur as Jet ran in, using his incredible speed to run past all the men and grab their weapons. The poor thieves looked confused and shocked.

Levy called out, "Droy, Now!"

Droy came into view and threw his magic seeds at the feet of the thieves, "Chain Plant!"

The seeds rapidly grew into vines that twirled around all the bandits, trapping them like rope.

The leader struggled, "Damn it!" He began to curse us out.

I looked at Levy, "Levy can you please…" I trailed off as she nodded.

She raised a hand and began writing the word, directing it at the thieves, "Silence!" All the thieves were moving their lips to yell and curse but nothing came out.

I breathed in relief, "Thanks."

Levy smiled, "Wow, that was easy." Thieves weren't really good fighters.

I nodded, "Now, we rummage the camp for anything they stole and give it to the mayor, get our reward from Ikki, and head on back to the guild. I look forward to seeing if Macao is back."

"There was a book stealing job on the board that I was thinking about, I hope it's still there when we get back." Levy told me.

Jet and Droy came to stand with us.

"But what do we do with these thieves?" Droy asked us.

I crossed my arms, looking over at the struggling thieves, "I say we give them over to the mayor and he can put them in the town jail to rot."

Jet glared at the thieves, "I say we leave them here to rot."

"Oh come on Jet, We can't just leave them here, that doesn't solve anything." Levy scolded him.

He sighed, "I guess you're right."

I was deep in thought. "How to get them to the mayor though… Hmm. Jet, do a quick search of the camp for stolen goods, please."

He nodded and went speeding through camp, and returned with a chest of gold. "Looks stolen to me."

I nodded.

Droy spoke up, "I could make a Holder Plant, it's a new spell I learned. We could carry the stolen gold and the thieves on it, and you could use your water to make the leaf move with us."

I looked at him, "Good idea. Okay Droy, Use your magic."

He threw a magic seed with poofed into a giant green leaf. I put out a hand and made a magic circle, "Water Wave." I murmured under my breath.

Water gushed out from the magic circle and went to move under the leaf, like soft wave that flowed in place and down to keep the leaf in place.

"Levy, would you?" I asked her. I could feel my magic slowly draining. It was like driving a car using magic, using an S-E plug. S-E plugs, otherwise known as Self Energy plugs, are things you put on your arm and they allow you to control the car using magic. You can make it go faster, slower, and control basically everything but you have to have that magic power.

Just like when I keep using a spell like this, it drains my power. But I should be okay.

"Right." Levy replied. She began writing her solid script and wrote, "Up!"

The thieves bounced up into the air. Slowly she used solid script to direct them and then plopped them down on the leaf. Jet dropped the chest beside them.

"Thanks guys. So first we stop at Ikki's house." I said. "Another job well done."

And so we went. Ikki had come out to meet us, she asked a few questions on how it went, she gave us our pay, and we left.

We next went to see the mayor of Magnolia. He dislikes Fairy Tail wizards sometimes because we tend to cause destruction (Which we didn't this time!). But today he thanked us, took the stolen gold and ordered the thieves to jail.

And so we made our way back to the guild hall. Of course by now Levy and I had changed back to normal clothes. Levy wore a yellow bikini top to show off her B-Cup, with a dark blue sleeveless vest. Levy wasn't flat chested but because everyone had bigger boobs than her, she was often seen as flat chested. She also wore white capris and a white shell necklace, with her normal orange hair tie in her wild blue hair. I had changed into a new outfit of a short sleeved red top that showed off my own chest, but it covered my Fairy Tail mark, and my short black skirt with my usual ankle boots. I had put a small dark red bow in my short brown hair, holding back my bangs.

I sighed as I sat down at the bar beside Gray. Master Makarov sat on the bar in front of us. Mirajane was walking around picking up dishes while Team Shadow Gear went to check the job board.

"Ugh, Darn. Did somebody already take that book stealing gig? That one paid 200,000." Levy sounded disappointed.

Mira stopped with plates in her hands, looking apologetically at the team. "Sorry. I guess Natsu and Lucy got to it first."

Levy sighed, "I really could have used that money."

We had split the money for the two jobs we just did. But Levy lived in Fairy Hills, which was the Fairy Tail guild for girls, and it had the same money needed each month as my house did. I didn't know where Jet and Droy lived but they had rent to pay too. Because of the low pay of the jobs we did, and having to split it, we didn't get all that much individually.

But knowing Levy, she wasn't worried about rent, she probably had some old expensive book she wanted to buy that she's saving up for. I would lend her the jewels but she didn't like charity. I didn't blame her, I don't like Charity either.

With his eyes closed, Gramps spoke up. "Well don't despair, it's probably for the best, Levy. It's changed."

That didn't sound good. I looked at him, frowning, "What do you mean?"

"I was just contacted with the client, concerning the job." Gramps told us.

Mirajane looked at him in surprise, "Oh, did they cancel it?"

Gramps had a dark look. "No. Quite the opposite. In fact, the reward has been increased. It's now two million."

Levy's eyes widened, along with Jet and Droy's, and all three of them had their mouths wide open. Two million jewel wasn't a big deal for me, I'd seen S-Class missions for much higher than that, but it still surprised me enough to widen my eyes.

"Two Million Jewel?!" Levy exclaimed.

"They paid that much for some stupid book?!" Droy asked in shock.

"That's almost like fighting monsters kind of pay!" Jet said.

Team Shadow Gear moved away to discuss finding a new gig. Mirajane had begun picking up dishes more at a nearby table so she could still be a part of our conversation.

I spoke up, putting my right hand flat down on the bar, "Did they give any reason why?"

The Master just smoked from his pipe and didn't answer, but his silence meant no.

Gray looked up from a glass of water and ice that was in front of him. He had an almost 'I have a plan' look. "Sounds like this job just got interesting."

I turned my head to look at him, since he was sitting next to me. My gaze caught on his skivvies. I smirked as I said, "By the way, Gray, Nice Skivvies."

He looked up at me in surprise before jumping up from his seat, yelling in shock from realizing he had stripped down to his underwear. He ran off to change.

I looked at Gramps, and crossed my arms. "You know, higher pay means it's probably more dangerous. Jet was right, Two million jewel is monster fighting pay. They could be in danger."

He stopped smoking his pipe, "Don't you think I know that? I wouldn't dwell on it too much, Mona. Natsu is a dragon slayer, like you are, and I'm sure Lucy can fight and handle herself. They will be fine, have faith in them."

I sighed and nodded, "Yes Sir."

He got up and headed to the second floor. Mirajane walked over behind the bar with the dishes, setting them down

"So Macao is back? That means Natsu and Lucy's mission went well?" I asked her.

She smiled at me and nodded. "Yes. And then this morning Natsu came into the guild and grabbed the job request for stealing that book, saying him and Lucy would handle it. Macao took another mission as well, a simple one in town so he'll be done by tonight."

"That's good. It's good to be back, but I might take a mission tomorrow." I told her.

"Remember, Erza should be back soon, maybe even by tomorrow." Mira reminded me.

I grinned, "Great! Anyway it's been a long day, I'm heading home. I'll see you tomorrow, Mira."

"Have a good night, Mona!" She called as I walked out of the guild. Several goodbyes followed me, and Levy-Chan waved.

I took a deep breath of the fresh air as I made my way home.

I was extremely glad that Erza was coming back from her mission. Erza was one of my closer friends in Fairy Tail. She's the only other S-Class girl, despite me. And she's the strongest girl in Fairy Tail.

Sure, I beat her to become S-Class, but she had just came back from a long mission and was already halfway magic depleted, plus I think she let me win because of a favor I had done her long ago that she had never repaid. Erza never forgot favors, and I was a special case.

Not only that, but Erza has been teaching me requip so I could use it to hold personal items. I wasn't big on armor or weapons but I did want that ability. But it's really hard to learn a second magic type, much less more than one, and I already know Water Dragon Slayer Magic, regular Water Magic, Thought Projection, and Transformation Magic. But Erza had her moments when she was kind and patient, even though she didn't always show it.

Somehow me and Erza just got along well. We respected each other, and that was that. She was feared by the guild because she was strict and would enforce rules even when the Master wouldn't. And I tended to break rules sometimes, but even so we got along just fine.

Between her, Mirajane, and Levy, I had begun to fit back in really well with Fairy Tail.

I intended to make up for the years I had lost.

And someday I hoped I would feel like I deserve to be in Fairy Tail.


	16. Chapter Thirteen: Wakaba's Wife

**(So this is just a filler chapter… Sometime between Mona and Cana, some talk at the guild, and next chapter will be the start of a new job.)**

"God I love Bubble Baths." I hummed happily as I sunk my head under the soap filled water.

It was the next day and I was at home, preparing for the day. My little home, the one I owned and paid for with 150,000 jewels.

I was currently in my nice big spa bath having a warm bubble bath and trying to relax.

Which was difficult when Cana was sitting right across from me, also in my bath.

When we were little and I lived in Fairy Hills we would take baths together with all the girls our age in that giant beautiful bath. And somehow she had kept the habit and had decided to join me in my bath this morning, so we sat across from each other.

I resurfaced my head and smoothed back my short hair.

"So do I. Two best things to do is to have a nice hot bath, and have all the beer I can without passing out." Cana laughed lightly.

I rolled my eyes, "You drink too much."

She sighed and leaned back in a despaired look, "I know. Probably the reason why I don't have a boyfriend. You know all the good guys in this town just can't handle me, I'm too great for them."

I smiled lightly, "I think all female mages are too great. We just can't be handled. I mean every guy thinks Erza is beautiful but she can be scary and they don't dare to ask her out after what she did to Loke. Levy is cute but she's super smart and most guys don't even see her true awesomeness because she isn't has busty as everyone else and they just don't notice her. You are great but your drinking is a problem for most guys. I think it might just be our guild in general actually. Either the guys are too much for the girls or the girls are too much for the guys or everyone just can't think about feelings. Then again, Love is overrated, we're too busy with missions."

"Well I wouldn't say that, Mona, You have Laxus." She told me.

I sat straight up in horror, "No I don't! I have no idea what you mean. Laxus hates me, we aren't- I mean I wouldn't- He isn't my-…" I was red in the face now.

"Mhmmm. You should have seen the way he acted when you left. And when you got back he was so flustered, I've never seen him so emotional. That isn't the way a hateful man acts, a hateful man would kill you when he had the chance." She told me.

I scowled, "Whatever. I won't be dating anyone anytime soon, and especially not Laxus. I can't stand him anymore. He's different."

I stood up and stepped out of the tub, grabbing a towel to wrap around myself. Cana followed me and got her own towel.

"Well a lot's happened to him. I'm surprised he even still talks to you." She said as we stood there.

My bathroom was a full bath with a nice big shower, a big spa tub, a toilet, a sink, a huge mirror. Normal Bathroom. The floor tile was cerulean blue and the wall was a light yellow like sunlight.

I sighed, "I know."

We did our hair and headed to the bedroom to get dressed. Her clothes were laid out and I got out my clothes, sliding my ring on my finger.

My bedroom was nice sized with a light blue wall and white carpet. It had a large king sized bed that had red sheets and dark blue pillows. Light wooded nightstands, dressers, and a large walk in closet was connected to it.

There was a small hallway leading to another bedroom, slightly smaller, that was empty with plain walls and plain white carpet because I hadn't needed to use it yet. There was a spiral black stairway at the end of the hall.

Cana chatted about the guild and stuff while we walked downstairs. I liked it when Cana visited, when we were kids she was like a little sister to me. I stood up for her, I watched over her, I comforted her each time my uncle Gildarts left just as she was about to tell him her secret.

We had been very close, and when I left it was tough on her and me both. Now that I was back we had been trying to get those moments back and be like sisters again. In fact we had been considering her moving in with me.

My kitchen and Living room was connected. The walls were light lavender, the floor was wooden in the living room with white tile in the kitchen. Light wooded counters and cupboards, white appliances, a clean neat kitchen at the moment. My living room was a bit messier, with blue and purple furniture and books on almost every surface. I liked reading in my free time.

"I need a job. I haven't been on a job in forever and my rent on my apartment is coming up." Cana mentioned with a sigh as she began rummaging through my cupboards, "Where is all your alcohol? Seriously Mona, you need beer or something in here."

I rolled my eyes, "I don't keep alcohol in the house." I paused before saying, "I'll look at the board today, if I find a good job I'll see if you and Loke want to join me."

Cana had an odd work partnership with Loke. Somehow it worked out, with her card magic and his Ring magic and his flirting and her drinking. She flirted right back and was blunt as hell, and he didn't care if she was drunk. Though Cana actually did well on missions, and Loke didn't flirt too much on missions either.

"Great idea. We should get going or everything at the guild will be nuts when we get there." Cana said.

I nodded, "Alright."

And so we headed to the guild, talking once more about relationships. Cana really wants a boyfriend, and I don't really care about romance at the moment.

An hour later I was sitting next to Cana and Macao in the guild. I had been talking to Macao about all the Vulcans he defeated. He defeated a total of 19, but the 20th got him. Lucy, Natsu, and Happy were also back from their job, in fact Gray apparently met them after finishing a job he had taken yesterday and they had come back together.

"You could have taken someone with you, Macao, twenty is a lot to defeat by yourself. Still, I'm not surprised you got 19 of them." I said, taking a sip of my beer. I wasn't much of a drinker but one was good to calm me down.

"You know, you haven't been on a mission with me since before you left. You should take a mission with me and Wakaba sometime, Mona." He told me.

I smiled, "Maybe I will someday, old man, but today I am teaming up with Cana and Loke."

He scowled, "I'm not old."

"You're thirty six, that's pretty old." I teased, sticking my tongue out at him.

He turned his head away, "Whatever, Dragon Slayer." He took a sip of his own beer. He knew I was just teasing.

We all turned our heads when we heard, "Mira! Three beers over here, Please!"

It was Wakaba who had spoken.

"Coming right up!" Mirajane replied, holding a tray of frothy beers and smiling.

Wakaba sat at a table with Laki. Nearby Vijeeter was doing his odd table dance.

Wakaba was Macao's best friend, a man who was constantly at the guild despite being married, and constantly flirting with Mirajane. He also happened to smoke way too much. He was the same age as Macao and as far as I knew the two had known each other their whole lives. He used smoke magic. And he had odd shaped light brown hair, and an odd fashion sense.

Laki was a young girl with long light violet hair and brown eyes, with glasses. She was pretty but modest in her clothing, and she hates perverts like Wakaba and Loke, though somehow she gets along with Wakaba. She had odd speech, referring to things in strange ways sometimes. And I was pretty sure she was a bit sadistic. She uses Wood Make magic.

Vijeeter is an average young man with brown hair that he keeps in a ponytail and long bangs, and dark eyes. He always wore the same black and grey body suit, and was always dancing. He loved dancing, in fact I almost never saw him sit still. He was saving up money to dance in some sort of minstrel thing. He used Dancer Magic. I didn't know him very well and had never been on a job with him.

Wakaba called out again, "Go on a date with me, Mira-chan!" He was literally smoking pink hearts from his pipe.

Laki made a distressed expression, "Not this again!"

"Oh? But…" Mirajane began, raising a hand. A big pink magic circle appeared in front of her as she used her transformation magic. She changed to look like Wakaba's wife, a plump woman with brown hair and too much makeup, "…Don't you already have a wife?"

Wakaba jumped up in shock, "Don't do that, Mira!"

"All I ask is to drink in peace and quiet." Cana grumbled.

"You drink too much." Macao told her.

I looked at him, "That's what I told her." Then I turned my head to Cana, "Besides, We're in Fairy Tail, it's never quiet or peaceful."

She just drank more beer.

I turned my attention to Natsu, Lucy, and Happy. Happy was eating a fish while Natsu had his chin on the table, looking discouraged.

"We should really get to work…" He decided.

Happy took his teeth off his wiggling fish enough to say, "Aye. We're running out of food money."

Those two were always talking about food money. But we all should take some jobs.

Lucy agreed and spoke up, "I knew we should've taken that two million jewel reward." She looked up, her eyes widening more, "Come to think of it, this month's rent is coming up. I need to work, too!"

I had heard about their job. Because they didn't do what was originally asked of them, even though the job had turned out good, Natsu had insisted not to take the reward. Besides the people who requested the job were poor, and hadn't had enough money to pay anyway. Natsu had done the honorable thing, but now they still needed money.

I stood as well, knowing I need to find a job as well.

And I felt like a good fight, so I knew what to look for.


	17. Chapter Fourteen:Natsu and Gray's Fights

I now stood in front of the job board with Lucy. Nab stood beside us as well, brooding over the board like always. He never seemed to actually go on a job.

"Finding a magic bracelet… Breaking the spell on a cursed cane… Reading someone's love horoscope… Hunting a Volcano Demon?!" Lucy read. "Wizard jobs sure come in lots of forms…"

"Lots of people pay to have all kinds of things done, be it big or small, difficult or easy." I said distractedly.

Finding a magic bracelet seemed too easy, but it had a good reward. And with Cana and Loke's magic it would be really easy to find it. But it seemed a bit boring. The reward was 250,000 jewels.

The cursed cane was 70,000 jewel but I didn't think we would be able too, I wasn't any good with curses. It sounded like a better job for someone who specializes in curse or rune magic.

The horoscope reading was 3,000 jewel, way too easy and way too low of a reward. But it was local so that meant no traveling. Still I would only get 1,000 jewel, because it would split three ways. 1,000 was barely enough for a tacky souvenir, much less rent or a meal. It would be a waste of time.

A Hunt for a Volcano demon. As I read it, it seemed we would be finding and defeating this demon. That'd be simple enough, especially with my water magic. Besides it was on a nearby island so we would go by boat, which wouldn't cause me motion sickness. I strangely could handle boats. The reward was 200,000, divided between three people meant I would have 60,000 jewel towards my rent.

Hmm what to choose… Maybe I should ask Cana and Loke… Or I could check the S-Class board, but I wasn't sure it would be good to bring them on that kind of difficult job. Plus I didn't want to risk running into Laxus after that 'talk' I had with Cana this morning.

Mirajane walked over to us, "Just let me know if you find one you're interested in. The Master's at a conference right now, you see."

"A conference?" Lucy asked her as we both looked at her.

Mira smiled at us and explained, "All the guild masters in the region get together every so often and report about things." She put up a finger to her chin and said thoughtfully, "It's not the same as the council, but…"

I remember now. I hadn't seen the Master leave for a conference since I was a kid. I remember because Laxus and I used to take him to the train station.

Mirajane paused and turned to Reedus, who sat at the bar. "Reedus, could I borrow a Light Pen?" She asked him.

"Oui." He answered. Reedus was French, and he was the most artistic person I knew. I should ask him to do a portrait of me and Cana, for my house. Maybe when Uncle Gildarts comes back, I can have him in the portrait too. He handed her the light pen.

A light pen is a magical item, a pen that can write in the air. Mirajane began to write, while I began to explain.

"The council is at the very top of the magical world. It consists of ten members and has connections with the government." I told Lucy. "It's purpose is to uphold all the rules in the magical world. Wizards who commit crimes can also be tried here. Personally I dislike the magic council with a passion, but that's just me."

Her chart showed how it went from the government, to the magic council ERA, to the guild master leagues, to the guilds.

Mirajane smiled, now that she was done drawing up the chart, she continued, "A lot of people don't like the magic council, Mona, but they are above us anyway. They aren't so bad. Just below that are the different guild master leagues. They pass on the decisions the council makes and help all the different guilds communicate. Basically, they hold us all together. It's a really tough job."

"I don't know how Master handles it all." I admitted, crossing my arms with a sigh.

Thoughtfully, Lucy spoke up, "I had no idea the guilds were interconnected like that…"

"Yes, it's important that guilds cooperate." Mirajane said to her. "If a guild doesn't focus on cooperation…"

Suddenly a spark of flame appeared and showed Natsu standing behind Lucy, all creepy looking with his finger tip lit up, grinning almost evilly as he finished Mirajane's sentence, "The guys in black will come!"

Lucy almost jumped, letting out a frightful squeal. Once she relaxed she had her teeth gritted together, an angry glare on her face as she looked at Natsu.

Natsu burst out laughing, "You're such a scaredy cat!"

"Don't scare me like that!" Lucy exclaimed, looking pretty mad.

"There really are guys in black, though." Mirajane said, holding up a finger. She wrote down Dark Guilds and circled it.

"Well I wouldn't call them guys in black, Mira. Although they definitely are just as dark." I said. I turned to Lucy to explain. "We call them dark guilds. They're guilds that don't belong to any league. They're malicious people and are known to be involved in crime, which is why they aren't good enough to be in leagues. I don't even consider them real guilds. They don't care about their guild mates, they only do things that benefit them, and most often that is crime. I've fought with a few dark guild members before. They might be criminals, but they aren't weak, so you shouldn't underestimate them."

"Really?" Lucy asked curiously.

With his arms raised up, resting his hands behind his head, Natsu lightheartedly spoke up, "Just choose a job, will you?"

Still a bit mad, Lucy turned to him with a grudging look. "And what gives you the right to say that to me?"

Smiling at her, he replied, "Well, we are a team after all."

Happy came over and told her, "We picked the job last time. This time it's your turn."

Lucy crossed her arms, "Yeah, right! You know our 'team' is disbanded! You didn't care about me! You just needed someone with blonde hair!"

I remembered, I had heard Mirajane talking with Lucy about it earlier when I came into the guild. Something about how they didn't take the reward because they hadn't done what was originally asked of them and the clients couldn't afford it. Lucy seemed pretty upset.

Lowering his arms, a serious expression now, Natsu told her differently, "That's not the only reason we chose you, Lucy." Putting on a big grin he exclaimed, "It was because you're nice!"

Lucy pursed her lips, a slight dimple showing on her chin as she struggled with his compliment, obviously feeling a bit guilty over acting so mad.

We all turned our heads when Gray spoke, "Don't worry about picking a team; I'm sure you'll get enough offers soon enough." He sat over by Cana, who kept taking long sips of beer from her mug, waiting for me to pick a job.

Cana lowered her mug and said simply, "Gray. Clothes." She always reminded him, it was almost natural now to hear her say that.

Gray jumped up in horror, waving his arms with a yell as he realized all he wore was boxer shorts.

Natsu retorted, "You're annoying." He was speaking to Gray. Immediately Gray stopped yelling and narrowed his dark eyes.

Suddenly the ice boy and fire dragon slayer were standing very close, glaring heatedly at each other, pushing each other's foreheads in anger. The intensity between the two was enough to heat up the room and then cool it down drastically, over and over. It's natural that the two would be rivals, cold versus hot. I thought I would be a rival to Natsu because he's fire and I'm water, but actually we got along really well, kind of like yin and yang. I get along with Gray as well. In fact the only rival I have in the guild is Laxus, possibly his thunder god tribe as well, and maybe mystogan but I haven't met mystogan yet.

"Did you just call me annoying, fire freak?!" Gray challenged.

"You're super annoying, you pervert!" Natsu spat.

They were truly menacing as they threw insults back and forth.

"Feather face!" Gray retorted.

"Silky hair!" Natsu remarked back, though I wasn't sure that was really an insult. Gray does have very silky hair, it's true.

"You're stifling!" Gray told him.

"You stink!" Natsu informed him back.

With an almost happy smirk, Happy spoke, "Here they go again…" I think Happy personally enjoys to watch fights, the odd little cat.

I scowled and put my hand to my forehead, slumping down to sit beside Cana. "Why is our guild full of weirdos?"

"Because they're guys, they are a whole different species and full of weirdos." Cana said, giving a small hiccup after taking another sip of beer.

I turned my attention to Lucy, who now had the attention of Loke. Loke had his arm draped around her shoulder, his hand dangerously close to her breast, and had his 'charming sparkly beautiful' expression on.

"Lucy, won't you form a team of love with me?" Loke asked her in his, 'I love you forever and ever my dearest' kind of voice. "Tonight, just the two of us."

"Huh?" She asked in confusion. It was like that when you first meet Loke. First time I met him after coming back he had a broken nose, and still sometimes flirts with me, to which I remind him that I don't like players. Though he isn't too bad, he just isn't my type.

Letting go of her, he sensually pushed up his glasses. "You really are beautiful. Even with my sunglasses on, your beauty is dazzling. I'm sure I would go blind if I saw you with my naked eyes."

With a disbelieving, annoyed expression she retorted strongly, "Go blind. Fine by me."

Her celestial keys clanged lightly and I saw Loke spot them. He raised his arms in protection against himself and hoped back in shock. "Y-You're a celestial wizard?!" He looked like a ninja waited to be on the defensive side.

"Huh?" she asked, confused again now.

Happy appeared, a fish in his mouth, and mumbled, "Yeah, she has a cow, and crab and stuff."

Loke let out a yell, a hand on his head, "WHAT A CRUEL TWIST OF FATE!" Real tears sprang from his eyes as he ran from the room, "I'm sorry! We can never be together!"

I stood to go stand by Lucy as she asked, "What's his deal?"

"Don't worry about Loke. He flirts with everyone, but he has trouble with Celestial wizards. It's like he wards them off completely, like bad juju. Rumor has it he had trouble with a girl not long ago, a celestial wizard."

Gazing at the way Loke ran off, Lucy replied distractedly, "I'm not surprised, He's-"

Suddenly Natsu came flying through the air and crashed into Lucy, both tumbling into the floor.

"Jeez… Natsu's so clutzy, he needs to watch out where he lands." I murmured, smiling slightly.

Gray stood proudly nearby.

Lucy choked out from under Natsu, "Knock it off, you guys…"

Gray of course defended himself, "He picked a fight with me. I can't turn down his offer!"

Cana, still sitting and drinking, pauses mid sip to say, "I told you. Your clothes." He let out a sound of shock and began doing his odd hopping dance with realization of still being in underwear.

Natsu got off Lucy, his menacing attitude back. "You're the one who started it, Droopy eyes!"

Grey, back to being just as menacing, growled darkly, "When exactly did I start it, Slanty eyes?!"

They were back to standing close together, throwing insults back and forth.

"Talking underwear!" Natsu called him.

"Amoeba!" Gray remarked.

"Talk about petty…" Lucy said out loud, watching them.

I smiled, as Happy appeared again and told her, "They're always like this."

I glanced at Wakaba, Vijeeter, and Laki as they all laughed while watching the two fight. Even Lucy began to smile.

Suddenly the doors smashed open and Loke stood there yelling, "This is bad!"

Everyone went into a hushed silence.

And then he echoed those words.

"It's Erza… She's back!"


	18. Chapter Fifteen: The Strongest Team

"It's Erza… She's back!"

Immediately after Loke echoed those words, everyone was in panic, talking fast and loudly, horrified expressions. Honestly they acted as if Erza was dangerous… well she kind of was, but she'd never truly hurt a guild mate! Well… she wouldn't kill them anyway. Not without good reason.

Natsu and Gray stopped their fight with identical expressions.

Mirajane walked up to stand beside me and Lucy as Lucy asked, "Erza? You mean the person Natsu mentioned earlier?"

I shuddered to think what Natsu told her. Natsu probably made Erza to be a twelve foot monster with sharp teeth and one eye who destroys mountains with one wave of her hand.

Mirajane spoke with a smile, "You could say she's the strongest female wizard in Fairy Tail now."

I noticed she said 'now'. It was true, before Lisanna died, and Mirajane fought, she was the strongest. A young girl, youngest to be S-Class, she was fearsome. No one ever dared to mess with Mirajane. They still don't but not out of fear, but because she's too sweet to upset.

Pounding stomps of two feet are heard and I turn my head to greet my friend.

"It's Erza…" Laki said softly nearby.

"Those are Erza's footsteps." Wakaba also said.

"Erza's come back…" Macao almost stammered while speaking.

Murmuring echoed around the room, many eyes trained on the open door just like mine were.

Lucy spoke up out loud, not talking to anyone in particular, "Given this reaction, Erza must be one powerful wizard…!"

Erza walked into the guild, her footsteps heard audibly, carrying what looked like the horn of a giant beast, except it was bejeweled. She set the horn down with a crashing sound, causing guild members to gasp in fear of the thing she brought with her. Erza looked the same as ever, incredibly long scarlet hair, and dark eyes that sometimes look like a deep purple, other times like a dark brown. She wore her normal outfit of her Heart Kruez Armor. She had her serious expression on, and didn't seem to even falter for a moment while setting down her souvenir.

"I've returned. Is Master here?" She spoke out loud, her tone as calm and strong as ever.

Standing beside Lucy and Mirajane, I grinned at Erza, glad she was back. I looked forward to hearing about her mission, it was obviously successful.

"S-So pretty…!" Lucy stammered, shocked. I must be right, Natsu did make Erza out to be a monster.

I spoke, still grinning, "Welcome back, Titania. The Master's at a conference. How'd the mission go?"

Looking at me, Erza nodded, "I see. The mission went well, Mona. Next time you will have to accompany me."

Titania, as was her nickname, was a powerful mage. She let me beat her so I would become S Class, but in a serious fight I'm not sure if I would beat her or not. I had no true reason to fight her, therefore I would not win. The thought of going on a mission with her was exciting, because we hadn't been on a mission together in a while now. I glanced at Cana, feeling a bit guilty since I had promised I would go on a mission with her, and then looked back at Erza.

Erza turned her head to Max, a sand mage who had walked up to her.

"What is that humungous thing, Erza?" he asked her.

She answered nonchalantly, "The horn of a monster I subdued. The locals decorated it and gave it to me as a souvenir."

I should have gone with her, that mission sounds like it was amazing. I know it was an S-Class mission, and due to the size of the horn, I'm sure it was just the right size for Erza, a nice challenge.

She turned fully to Max and the boy next to him, "Is it a problem?"

Both boys jumped and immediately hurried to assure her, "No, not in the least!"

Everyone besides me and Mirajane was nervous. And Cana, who was drinking from a barrel. Nab and Macao looked especially nervous.

"I bet she's heard about what happened at Mt. Hakobe." Cana told Macao.

Erza kept the guild in line even when the Master didn't, which is why everyone feared her. She could be a bit like a scolding mother or something.

"O-Oh, crap… I'm a goner…" Macao stammered.

Lucy spoke, sounding genuinely surprised, "She's not what I imagined at all…"

I looked at her, "Here's a tip, never listen to Natsu or Gray. They tend to have huge imaginations. Then again, so does Erza… and almost everyone in Fairy Tail."

"Um… thanks…" she replied.

Everyone around let out squeaks of terror as Erza suddenly said, "Listen up!"

I, on the other hand, was already listening. Her scolding begins.

"On the road, I heard that Fairy Tail has been causing yet more trouble. The Master may not care, but I do!" Erza called out. She turned to each person as she chewed them out. "Cana! How dare you drink, dressed like that!"

Cana immediately set down her barrel.

"Vijeeter!"

Sounding scared, Vijeeter answered, "Yes?"

"Dance outside!" Erza ordered, her back to him. "Wakaba. I see cigarette butts on the floor. Nab. I see you're dawdling in front of the board, as usual. Do some work! Macao!"

Macao jumped in fear. But then Erza just sighed and closed her eyes, looking like it was too disappointing to even say anything. Even worse than Erza's bark, is her silence.

Macao panicked, "Say something!"

"Honestly, you cause so much trouble." She finally said, an armored hand to her head, "But I'll be kind and say nothing for today."

I smiled. Erza, known for her generosity, of course.

Lucy said under her breath, "She's already said a lot, though…" She turned to Happy, Mirajane, and I, whispering so Erza couldn't hear her. "What is she, a disciplinarian?"

Happy answered cheerfully, "That's Erza for you."

"Still, even if she is kind of a loudmouth, she looks like an actually mature person. Surely there's no reason to be so afraid of her?" Lucy asked.

I laughed lightly, "Oh there's plenty reasons to be scared of Erza. She's one of my closest friends, so I know just how scary she can be."

Lucy didn't get a chance to answer because at the moment Erza spoke again, "Are Natsu and Gray here?"

I turned my attention to Natsu and Gray. I was surprised to see them grinning like idiots, though it was fake. They both had one arm across the other's shoulders, and the other hands clasped together in a buddy styled hug. They were putting on a show for Erza so she wouldn't yell at them.

"H-Hi, Erza. We're good buddies as usual…!" Gray said, tensely but trying to make it believable.

In a tense imitation of Happy, Natsu agrees with an, "Aye!"

Lucy made a cat-like face and exclaimed shrilly, "Natsu's turned into Happy!"

With her arms crossed, Erza didn't seem to think their behavior was odd. She could be quite… gullible, when it came to Natsu and Gray. "I see. It's natural for good friends to fight sometimes, too. That said, I like seeing you get along like that."

Gray immediately replied, "No. We're not exactly good friends…"

"Aye…" Natsu agreed.

Looking shocked, Lucy said, "I've never seen Natsu like this before!"

Having used the light pen to draw out a defeated squiggly of Natsu and a monster squiggly of Erza, Mirajane spoke up, "A long time ago, Natsu challenged Erza to a fight and got really beat up."

"Natsu did?!" Lucy asked.

Smiling fondly at the memory, I looked at Cana and Macao. Cana had the same smile I did, while Macao had more of a soft smirk.

"She found Gray walking around naked and beat him up." Macao mentioned.

"Actually She's beaten Gray and Natsu up quite a few times, if I'm remembering correctly." I said.

Cana added, "She beat Loke up too for trying to hit on her."

"You reap what you sow." I laughed lightly. "I mean, Loke flirts with everyone, it was only a matter of time before someone beat him up. I punched him once and broke his nose."

"I would've expected as much from him…" Lucy murmured.

"Natsu. Gray. Mona. I have a favor to ask." Erza said.

Both Natsu and Gray stood up straight, and all three of us asked, "Huh?"

Erza was serious as she explained, "I heard about something bad while on my last job. Normally, I would consult the Master about something like this first, but I believe this is a matter of the utmost emergency. I want your help. Will you come with me?"

Natsu and Gray looked at each other, while I looked at Erza.

Whispers spread around the other guild members.

"What in the world?"

"Erza's asking for help?"

"This is a first!"

It was shocking. But what shocked me more was Natsu and Gray being with us. I mean, they would surely fight.

I looked at Cana and spoke up, "I promised I would go on a mission with Cana…"

Cana shrugged, "No. Go ahead, Loke and I can get our own mission. We'll go on a mission another time."

I grinned, "Thanks." I turned back to Erza. "I'm in."

"We leave tomorrow. Make sure you're ready." Erza announced.

Mirajane spoke softly, "Erza, Mona, Natsu, and Gray… I never even imagined it before…"I heard her and glanced at her, and so did Lucy. "But this could very well be the strongest team in Fairy Tail…"

I was proud when she said that.

The strongest team in Fairy Tail…

I like the sound of that.

I knew I worked well with Natsu, Erza, and Gray. Being on the same team as them was an entirely different story, though.

I guess we'll see tomorrow, when our missions starts… Although she hasn't actually told us the mission.

Guess I'll find out.


End file.
